Electric Generation Prices Overview
The Natural Gas Electric Generation Price Model attempts to account for the cost to procure and deliver gas to a natural gas-fired electric generator. Electric generation prices include both a commodity and a transportation component. The commodity component is the price of natural gas after production from the well and processing for injection into a nearby utility pipeline. The transportation component is the cost of transporting the gas from the injection point near the production basin to the electric generator for consumption. Energy planners and analysts working for regulators and utilities use the estimated price projection for electricity resource planning, since fuel is a major portion of the overall cost to run natural gas-fired turbines.
Electric Generation Price Projection
The March 2023 model, posted below in Microsoft Excel, estimates electric generation prices by using a preliminary February 2023 North American Market Gas-trade (NAMGas) Model commodity projection by case from 2023 to 2050. Interstate transportation rates were updated using the latest rate schedules in the pipeline operators’ filed tariffs as of February 2023. Intrastate transportation rates for Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas, and San Diego Gas & Electric have also been updated using the 2023 California Transportation Rates Model.