Why can electricity prices go negative?

Understand negative wholesale electricity prices and why they do not automatically mean free power at home.

A market price below zero

At some times and locations, a generator may offer to pay a wholesale buyer to take electricity. Operating constraints, incentives and local conditions can affect those offers. A negative price alone does not identify one cause.

A small calculation

At −$10/MWh, the energy-price component of a 2 MWh wholesale transaction is −$20. This illustrative arithmetic excludes other market charges and contract terms.

What it means for your bill

A fixed household tariff can remain positive during a negative wholesale interval. Any benefit depends on your contract. wattya preserves negative MISO and NYISO values, while keeping them separate from state retail averages.