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- Pipeline constraints in Permian region trap gas, causing record negative Waha Hub prices
- California power and gas prices turn negative amid low demand and abundant hydropower
- NWRFC projects above-normal water flows at Dalles Dam, boosting hydropower supply in Northwest
NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) – U.S. spot power and natural gas prices in Texas and California traded in negative territory for Tuesday as mild weather kept both heating and cooling use low, allowing ample amounts of hydro and other renewable sources of energy to meet more demand.
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Negative prices are a sign that energy firms were producing too much power or gas, requiring some firms to cut back on output or pay others to take their power or gas.
In West Texas, average cash gas prices at the Waha Hub remained in negative territory for a record 47 straight days as pipeline constraints continued to trap gas associated with oil production in the Permian region, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin.
Analysts have long said negative prices were a sure sign that the Permian region, which spans West Texas and eastern New Mexico, needs more gas pipes.
More pipes are on the way later this year, but not soon enough to handle all the gas currently coming out of the ground.
Daily Waha prices first averaged below zero in 2019. They did so 17 times in 2019, six times in 2020, once in 2023, 49 times in 2024, 39 times in 2025, and a record 56 times so far this year, according to pricing data from financial firm LSEG.
Waha prices have averaged a negative $1.53 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) so far in 2026, compared with a positive $1.15 in 2025 and a positive $2.88 over the past five years (2021-2025).
Power prices in some Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regions, such as the West and Panhandle, were also negative for several hours.
TOO MUCH POWER IN CALIFORNIA
Electric prices also turned negative in California.
Spot power at the South Path 15 (SP-15) Hub fell below zero for the first time since March 2025, dropping to a negative 72 cents per megawatt hour (MWh) for Tuesday, down from a positive $1.88 for Monday.
That compares with a record low of negative $16.85 per MWh in May 2024, and positive averages of $19.80 so far in 2026, $28.44 in 2025, and $53.02 over the past five years (2021-2025). SP-15 prices averaged in negative territory two times in 2025 and 18 times in 2024.
With little demand for power, next-day gas prices at the PG&E Citygate in Northern California fell to a record low for a second day in a row, dropping to $1.21 per mmBtu for Tuesday. That compares with averages of $1.95 so far in 2026, $3.42 in 2025, and $5.47 over the past five years.
Energy traders noted power prices often turn negative in western parts of the U.S. in the spring when warmer weather melts snow in the mountains, boosting the supply of water available for hydropower.
The U.S. Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC), which tracks water flows in the Pacific Northwest, projected the amount of water at the Dalles Dam on the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon would average 103% of normal during the October-September water season in 2026.
That is well above levels of 80% of normal in fiscal 2025, 77% in 2024 and 76% in 2023.
The Dalles is the next-to-last dam on the lower Columbia River and a key point to measure the volume of water available for power generation in the Northwest.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Tim McLaughlin in Boston, Editing by Louise Heavens
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