據今日油價網站1月7日消息 美能源信息管理局（EIA）周五在一份分析報告中表示，2021美國燃料價格上漲，尤其是天然氣價格的上漲，帶動了所有地區的批發電價上漲。

在美國所有主要貿易中心2021年的平均批發價格均高于2020年，主要因用于發電的燃料成本上升。天然氣占美國發電量的最大份額，占2020年發電燃料的40%。

EIA表示：“天然氣的成本是電價的一個重要驅動因素，因為它通常是運營商派遣來供電的發電機組的邊際（最高成本）燃料。”

除了2021年的天然氣價格普遍高于2020年，得克薩斯2021年2月的寒潮也導致了一些地區在冬季暴風雨期間和之后的批發電價飆升。

在2021年之前，由于供應充足，美國天然氣價格相對較低。2020年，交付給發電機的天然氣成本平均為2.40美元/百萬英熱單位。但在2021年，需求上升導致天然氣價格上漲，天然氣發電的成本從2021年1月的3.19美元/百萬英熱單位升至2021年季度的5.04美元/百萬英熱單位。

由于天然氣價格居高不下，2021年各地區的批發電價都有所上漲。

例如，2021年年中的平均電價在伊利諾斯中部的ISO市場平均為45美元/兆瓦時，比2020下半年大幅上漲97%。加利福尼亞CAISO SP15樞紐的平均電價在2021下半年為61美元/兆瓦時，同比增長37%。

王磊 摘譯自 今日油價

原文如下：

Higher Natural Gas Prices Push Up U.S. Wholesale Electricity Prices

Rising fuel costs, especially those of natural gas, drove up wholesale electricity prices in all U.S. regions in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an analysis on Friday.

Average wholesale prices for electricity at all major trading hubs in the United States were higher in 2021 than in 2020 as a result of the rising costs of the fuels used for power generation. Natural gas accounts for the single largest share of U.S. electricity generation and represented 40 percent of the fuel used for power in 2020.

“The cost of natural gas is a significant driver of electricity prices because it often acts as the marginal (highest cost) fuel of generating units that operators dispatch to supply electricity,” the EIA said. 

Apart from generally higher natural gas prices in 2021 compared to 2020, the Texas Freeze in February 2021 also led to spikes in regional wholesale electricity prices in several regions during and after the winter storm.

Before 2021, U.S. natural gas prices were relatively low thanks to abundant supply. The cost of natural gas delivered to electric generators averaged $2.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2020. But in 2021, rising demand amid a muted supply response led to higher natural gas prices and the delivered cost of natural gas to electricity generators jumped from $3.19/MMBtu in January 2021 to an estimated $5.04/MMBtu in the fourth quarter of 2021, the EIA said.

Due to the high natural gas prices, all regions saw higher wholesale electricity prices in 2021. 

For example, average electricity prices during the second half of 2021 averaged $45/MWh at the Illinois hub in the Midcontinent ISO market, up by a massive 97 percent from the second half of 2020. Average electricity prices at the SP15 hub in the California CAISO market was $61/MWh in the second half of 2021, up by 37 percent compared to the same period of 2020, the EIA has estimated.