据今日油价网站1月7日消息 美能源信息管理局（EIA）周五在一份分析报告中表示，2021美国燃料价格上涨，尤其是天然气价格的上涨，带动了所有地区的批发电价上涨。

在美国所有主要贸易中心2021年的平均批发价格均高于2020年，主要因用于发电的燃料成本上升。天然气占美国发电量的最大份额，占2020年发电燃料的40%。

EIA表示：“天然气的成本是电价的一个重要驱动因素，因为它通常是运营商派遣来供电的发电机组的边际（最高成本）燃料。”

除了2021年的天然气价格普遍高于2020年，得克萨斯2021年2月的寒潮也导致了一些地区在冬季暴风雨期间和之后的批发电价飙升。

在2021年之前，由于供应充足，美国天然气价格相对较低。2020年，交付给发电机的天然气成本平均为2.40美元/百万英热单位。但在2021年，需求上升导致天然气价格上涨，天然气发电的成本从2021年1月的3.19美元/百万英热单位升至2021年季度的5.04美元/百万英热单位。

由于天然气价格居高不下，2021年各地区的批发电价都有所上涨。

例如，2021年年中的平均电价在伊利诺斯中部的ISO市场平均为45美元/兆瓦时，比2020下半年大幅上涨97%。加利福尼亚CAISO SP15枢纽的平均电价在2021下半年为61美元/兆瓦时，同比增长37%。

王磊 摘译自 今日油价

原文如下：

Higher Natural Gas Prices Push Up U.S. Wholesale Electricity Prices

Rising fuel costs, especially those of natural gas, drove up wholesale electricity prices in all U.S. regions in 2021, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in an analysis on Friday.

Average wholesale prices for electricity at all major trading hubs in the United States were higher in 2021 than in 2020 as a result of the rising costs of the fuels used for power generation. Natural gas accounts for the single largest share of U.S. electricity generation and represented 40 percent of the fuel used for power in 2020.

“The cost of natural gas is a significant driver of electricity prices because it often acts as the marginal (highest cost) fuel of generating units that operators dispatch to supply electricity,” the EIA said. 

Apart from generally higher natural gas prices in 2021 compared to 2020, the Texas Freeze in February 2021 also led to spikes in regional wholesale electricity prices in several regions during and after the winter storm.

Before 2021, U.S. natural gas prices were relatively low thanks to abundant supply. The cost of natural gas delivered to electric generators averaged $2.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2020. But in 2021, rising demand amid a muted supply response led to higher natural gas prices and the delivered cost of natural gas to electricity generators jumped from $3.19/MMBtu in January 2021 to an estimated $5.04/MMBtu in the fourth quarter of 2021, the EIA said.

Due to the high natural gas prices, all regions saw higher wholesale electricity prices in 2021. 

For example, average electricity prices during the second half of 2021 averaged $45/MWh at the Illinois hub in the Midcontinent ISO market, up by a massive 97 percent from the second half of 2020. Average electricity prices at the SP15 hub in the California CAISO market was $61/MWh in the second half of 2021, up by 37 percent compared to the same period of 2020, the EIA has estimated.