The Shaky Economics of Gas-fired Power

The document describes a methodology for assessing the economic viability of gas-fired power plants in MISO and SPP during 2019. By comparing day-ahead market revenues against fuel and variable operating expenses, the authors calculated hourly cash flows for 436 facilities. The process involved converting EPA gross generation data to net generation, mapping plants to the nearest market pricing nodes, and utilizing S&P Global data for fuel costs and variable operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses.

• The analysis calculated hourly cash flow by subtracting daily spot fuel prices and annual variable O&M costs from day-ahead market revenues based on net generation.
• To determine market revenues, the researchers converted EPA hourly gross generation data into net generation using scalars derived from S&P Global and EIA Form 923 data, accounting for seasonal efficiency changes in steam and combined-cycle plants.
• Market pricing was determined by matching plants to the nearest independent system operator pricing node within 10 miles; for nodes further than three miles, an inversely weighted average was used to correct for price outliers.
• The study excluded additional revenue streams such as uplift payments and revenues from capacity and ancillary service markets.
• Fuel costs were calculated using daily gas spot prices from S&P Global, though the authors note the analysis is sensitive to fuel price and lacks specific fuel contract terms or hedges.
• The final analysis included 436 gas facilities across MISO and SPP, after excluding 86 facilities (12 percent of operating capacity) due to data limitations or their role as black-start capacity.

APA

Massie, A., & Daniel, J. (2022). The Shaky Economics of Gas-fired Power. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Economics-gas-fired-power-appendix.pdf

Chicago

Massie, Ashtin, and Joe Daniel. The Shaky Economics of Gas-fired Power. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2022. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Economics-gas-fired-power-appendix.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Massie |first1=Ashtin |last2=Daniel |first2=Joe |title=The Shaky Economics of Gas-fired Power |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=June 2022 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Economics-gas-fired-power-appendix.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{massie2022shaky, author = {Massie, Ashtin and Daniel, Joe}, title = {{The Shaky Economics of Gas-fired Power}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-06/Economics-gas-fired-power-appendix.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }