Wholesale electricity costs in New England climbed in spring 2026 even though natural gas got cheaper, with emissions costs and other factors behind the increase, according to the latest quarterly report from ISO New England's Internal Market Monitor (IMM).
The total estimated wholesale market cost of electricity in the region reached $1.75 billion for the quarter, up 6% from spring 2025, the IMM said.
Fuel moved the other way. Natural gas averaged $2.79 per million British thermal units over the spring, 18% below the same period a year earlier, according to the market monitor.
Emissions-related costs for a typical natural gas generator in the region rose 65% year over year, the IMM reported. That charge sits inside the offer costs of the gas units that frequently set the marginal price in the New England energy market, which is why a falling fuel benchmark did not translate into falling wholesale bills.
Imports took a visibly larger share of supply. Net imports covered 13% of the region's energy in spring 2026, against 7% in the previous spring, according to the report.
Capacity payments went in the opposite direction from energy costs. Capacity costs totaled $266 million, a 26% drop year over year, which the IMM attributed to lower cleared capacity and less price separation in import-constrained zones.
The combination described by the market monitor is a quarter in which the two largest components of wholesale cost diverged: energy-side charges tied to emissions rose while the capacity-side bill shrank, and the region leaned harder on power brought in from outside its own generation fleet.