Wholesale power prices in region rose 300% in February

Ratepayers know too well that February was a rough month for retail utility bills in New England, marked by soaring costs that threw household and business budgets out of whack.

Regional grid operator ISO-New England put a number on the pain for the wholesale side of the picture Wednesday, reporting that the average real-time electricity price was $126.40 per megawatt-hour in February 2025, up 301% compared to February 2024. In addition, January’s real-time price average was only 6.4% lower than February’s elevated average.

Consumer demand and fuel costs drive wholesale electricity prices in New England, and both are up. 

Natural gas was used to generate 55% of the power produced in 2024 by New England’s power plants, and the natural-gas-fired power plants usually set the price of wholesale electricity, ISO-New England reported, noting the average natural gas price per therm in February was $14.62, up 319% from the February 2024 average.

Regional electricity demand in February increased 4.7% compared to February 2024. The average temperature in February was 29 degrees in New England, down 5 degrees from last February. 

The region’s energy mix is a constant topic of debate on Beacon Hill, where legislators have aligned policies to move toward renewable energy in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. The transition is a slow one.

According to ISO-NE, natural gas-fired and nuclear generation produced 79% of the 7,891 gigawatt hours of electric energy generated in New England in February. Renewable sources generated 13% of the regional energy, including 5.4% from wood, refuse, and landfill gas, 4.7% from wind, and 2.9% from solar. Coal resources generated 0.4% while oil-fired resources generated 1.3%. Hydroelectric resources generated 5.5%, and the region received net imports of about 2,187 gigawatt hours of electricity from neighboring regions.

On the carbon emissions front, New England power plants produced about 2.28 million metric tons of CO2 in February 2025, a 10.3% increase from February 2024.

Energy affordability is emerging as a legislative goal in the new term and Gov. Maura Healey’s team continues to work on a proposal to put before the General Court. Democrats on Beacon Hill have fashioned state policy to support offshore wind power’s growth, but the industry has been slow to take shape.