Wholesale market prices for generation vary daily and hourly as factors like supply, demand and weather change. PJM, an independent transmission organization, manages the competitive wholesale electricity market to ensure reliability for the region in which PPL Electric Utilities operates. Similar to the stock exchange, PJM establishes a market price for electricity by matching supply with demand.
This tool can help you learn and become familiar with the day ahead projected price of electricity, the real time cost of electricity, and how that price will vary depending upon the time of day. By knowing when prices are projected to be high, consumers on time-of-use or hourly pricing rates can adjust their power use and save money.
Influence of Market Conditions
Electricity, as with other products, works on supply and demand. If supply is tight, the price may go up. If supply is plentiful, the price may fall. Use the calendar feature below to see past examples of how price was affected by different weather and market conditions, such as power plant unavailability due to mechanical or technical problems.
The prices shown on the chart are taken from the PJM website. Those figures are then changed slightly to more closely reflect a price a customer would pay. For example, ancillary costs are added by the generating company to recover the cost of transmitting the electricity to your local electric distribution company.
Day-Ahead Prices are a projection of what the prices are expected to be for the next day. These are posted by 5 p.m. the day before. This price is shown in green.
Real-Time Price is the hourly wholesale price of generation on the PJM system at any given time. This is called the “open market.” This price is shown in red.
Real Time Pricing Data
Select a date to view past market pricing (history is available for the previous 2 calendar years). Projected day-ahead prices are posted at 5:00 p.m. for the next day. Real-time prices are updated on an hourly basis as they occur.
2/6/2025 PJM Generation Pricing Data