Gas was prioritized for home heating, forcing power plants to burn expensive oil instead and to import Liquified Natural Gas from foreign countries in container ships at 3-5 times the normal, unconstrained cost of Marcellus Shale gas. Wholesale electricity prices (called LMPs) spiked dramatically, with peaks over $660/MWh on January 27 and averages far higher than normal during the event. For comparison, the most recently reported average annual wholesale cost of ISO-NE electricity was $40/MWh for 2024.










