Texas electricity prices surged to more than $1,000 a megawatt-hour for Friday when demand is forecast to hit a winter record in the biggest test since extreme cold and blackouts killed hundreds almost a year ago.Demand on the grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, is forecast to peak at 71,806 megawatts on the morning of Feb. 4, a level that has never been seen outside the summer season before. In February 2021, demand was poised to climb to an all-time high before widespread outages darkened the second-largest U.S. state for days.Memory of that crisis is creating a fear premium for coming days, when a deep chill is expected to descend on Texas, according to several traders. On-peak power for Ercot’s North hub, which includes Dallas, closed at $800 for Feb. 4 on the Intercontinental Exchange after topping $1,000 in trading Monday, traders said. By comparison, Wednesday power fetched $60 and Thursday almost $560, a trader said.
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