CES Market Summary/November Insider

November 2024

Key Takeaways

Brent closed at $72.55 per barrel last week, down 4.6% week-over-week. WTI fell 3.2% week-over-week to $69.49 per barrel. Crude prices dropped last week as supply concerns surrounding conflict in the Middle East decreased and weak demand from China continued to drag down oil consumption. The NYMEX prompt month rose by $0.10 week-over-week to $2.66/MMBtu, a 4.0% increase. The rolling 12-month strip decreased by 6.3% week-over-week to $2.90/MMBtu. As the United States leaves the refill season, which runs from April through October, storage levels remain above the five-year average. The NEPOOL 12-month electricity strip was down by 0.2% week-over-week to $54.27/MWh following a drop in NYMEX gas prices. The 2025 and 2026 calendar year strips decreased while the 2027 strip increased week-over-week.

DOWNLOAD

Farmers & Forecasters

By Max Webb,

Managing Director of Pricing Analytics

“Useful, with a pleasant degree of humor” is the message written on the cover of The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

I have always known the Almanac for its fun facts, stories and many other amusements, however, there are plenty of folks who have relied on the Almanac for hundreds of years for advice on life, gardening tips, food recipes, home remedies, and of course, weather predictions. Personally, I have never put much weight into their weather forecasts, but if it's good enough for farmers, then it should be good....

2024 ISO-NE PEAK LOAD HOUR CES Self-Help Program

By Andrew Price, President & CEO

On October 17, the Independent System Operator New England (ISO-NE) published its preliminary annual peak load report for 2024, indicating that the peak electrical load in New England occurred on July 16 during the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM hour. After unusually mild weather in 2023 – and the first September annual system peak since the regional forward capacity market was established close to two decades ago - the summer of 2024 was more typical for New England. A July heat wave caused air conditioning loads to spike and a peak electrical load was set in the afternoon of July 16, 2024. After adjustments, ISO-NE’s preliminary load report indicates that demand during the 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM hour on July 16 hit 24,366 MW....

Photo by: Sid Balachandran

CES Community Support SNEAPPA Fall Meeting

On October 16, Competitive Energy Services supported the Southern New England Chapter of APPA (SNEAPPA) Fall Meeting at the Main Sponsorship Level. The event, which was held at the University of Massachusetts/Lowell campus, included a panel discussion on the Nuclear Option for Decarbonization with facilities members from University of Massachusetts Lowell and UMASS Chan Medical School followed by a presentation on the creative use of campus Green Space (especially when its limited to develop!) The day concluded with tours and a discussion on Using Automation to Alleviate the Skilled Labor Burden.

CES Team Members Pictured Left-to-Right

Daniel Long, Client Development Coordinator

Zack Hallock, Senior Energy Services Advisor

Photo by John Cannon Photo

STAFF PICK Max Webb

The Old Farmer's Almanac

By The Old Farmer's Almanac

The Old Farmer’s Almanac has been making every day special since 1792, and, with the 2025 edition, it continues this tradition in its inimitable fashion. Trusted by generations from all walks of life for its honesty and accuracy, the Almanac delivers fun facts, predictions, feature articles, and advice across many interest areas to readers who actually live—or aspire to live—the country lifestyle, with the intent of helping them to make better decisions. As a calendar of the heavens, it provides detailed daily astronomical data (Sun/Moon rise/set times, length of day), tide times, and planet/star sightings for every sky watcher, from novice to expert. As a calendar of the year, it presents annual and seasonal events, holidays, anniversaries, and timely trivia; astrological “Best Days” and cycles; and much more for the curious and the conscientious. As a time capsule of the year, it contains cultural trends; weather forecasts and conditions; articles on interesting topics such as gardening, home arts and remedies, amusements and contests, history, husbandry, nature, cooking and recipes, folklore, pets, and sports; and more—all in a way that is “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor. (Excerpt from Amazon Book Review)

Have an Energy Question?

If you have a pressing energy question, or would like to hear about a particular topic in a future edition of the CES Insider, please contact us on our website today. We look forward to hearing from you!

COMPETITIVE ENERGY SERVICES | competitive-energy.com