Heat raises prices; solar and storage lowers them

New studies show that heat — and broken-down gas & coal plants — were the two biggest drivers of high power prices in 2023, while solar & storage (and lower temperatures) helped lower costs this year.

Texas’ summer of 2023 was memorably excruciating. It was the second hottest summer in Texas history, behind only the inferno that was 2011. Over 61 days last year, Texans endured statewide highs of 105 degrees.

Unsurprisingly, the state’s power reserves were strained. On average, outages of “dispatchable” thermal power plants — those running on gas, coal…