← Electricity generation trends
The Spread
Monthly spark spreads against the U.S. delivered gas-cost benchmark.
GRIDLINES ANALYSIS · July 2026
Latest page month; individual hubs may end earlier.
Indiana Hub spark spread
Selected month
February 2021 · −$44.31/MWh
51 of 151 months shown in this period.
Gaps are months without a supported value. A month needs at least 10 power trading days and a usable gas benchmark for that same month.
ICE’s daily on-peak trading at Indiana Hub thinned sharply after 2018, so most months since then have fewer than 10 trading days and are left out, not estimated.
Power data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), republished with permission from data collected by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). This product features derived information and is not an official feed of ICE.
Gas cost data source: EIA, Form EIA-923 — the U.S. electric-power sector’s average delivered natural-gas cost, one national benchmark used for every hub. It is not ICE data.
National gas-cost benchmark · Fuel margin, not profit
February 2021
- Spark spread · $/MWh
- −$44.31
- On-peak power · $/MWh
- $87.24
- U.S. delivered gas benchmark · $/MMBtu
- $17.43
- Breakeven gas · $/MMBtu
- $11.56
How to read this chart
Reading the spread
Zero is where on-peak power covers the reference plant’s gas cost. Hatching marks a positive fuel margin. Every hub uses the same U.S. delivered gas-cost benchmark. Gaps mean no supported monthly value. This is a fuel margin, not profit.
View monthly values
| Month | Spark spread, $/MWh | On-peak power, $/MWh | U.S. delivered gas benchmark, $/MMBtu | Breakeven gas, $/MMBtu |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2014 | $26.81 | $81.72 | $7.28 | $10.83 |
| February 2014 | $17.91 | $75.28 | $7.60 | $9.97 |
| March 2014 | $6.90 | $53.19 | $6.13 | $7.05 |
| April 2014 | $3.97 | $42.58 | $5.12 | $5.64 |
| May 2014 | $10.81 | $48.19 | $4.95 | $6.38 |
| June 2014 | $10.79 | $47.43 | $4.85 | $6.28 |
| July 2014 | $4.85 | $38.39 | $4.44 | $5.09 |
| August 2014 | $8.04 | $39.21 | $4.13 | $5.19 |
| September 2014 | $5.69 | $37.47 | $4.21 | $4.96 |
| October 2014 | $7.67 | $38.65 | $4.10 | $5.12 |
| November 2014 | $9.12 | $43.40 | $4.54 | $5.75 |
| December 2014 | $3.04 | $35.94 | $4.36 | $4.76 |
| January 2015 | $4.61 | $36.12 | $4.17 | $4.79 |
| February 2015 | $11.42 | $48.15 | $4.87 | $6.38 |
| March 2015 | $7.70 | $34.85 | $3.60 | $4.62 |
| April 2015 | $6.99 | $30.64 | $3.13 | $4.06 |
| May 2015 | $12.55 | $36.51 | $3.17 | $4.84 |
| June 2015 | $8.79 | $32.47 | $3.14 | $4.30 |
| July 2015 | $11.08 | $34.69 | $3.13 | $4.60 |
| August 2015 | $9.42 | $33.02 | $3.13 | $4.37 |
| September 2015 | $10.58 | $33.89 | $3.09 | $4.49 |
| October 2015 | $8.73 | $30.89 | $2.94 | $4.09 |
| November 2015 | $7.53 | $27.84 | $2.69 | $3.69 |
| December 2015 | $6.61 | $26.42 | $2.62 | $3.50 |
| January 2016 | $5.11 | $28.31 | $3.07 | $3.75 |
| February 2016 | $5.11 | $25.79 | $2.74 | $3.42 |
| March 2016 | No supported value | |||
| April 2016 | $14.08 | $32.48 | $2.44 | $4.30 |
| May 2016 | $12.35 | $30.56 | $2.41 | $4.05 |
| June 2016 | $11.50 | $31.77 | $2.68 | $4.21 |
| July 2016 | $19.18 | $41.61 | $2.97 | $5.51 |
| August 2016 | $16.73 | $39.08 | $2.96 | $5.18 |
| September 2016 | $16.65 | $39.87 | $3.08 | $5.28 |
| October 2016 | $19.31 | $42.93 | $3.13 | $5.69 |
| November 2016 | $10.68 | $33.59 | $3.04 | $4.45 |
| December 2016 | $14.17 | $44.47 | $4.01 | $5.89 |
| January 2017 | $5.44 | $36.92 | $4.17 | $4.89 |
| February 2017 | $4.61 | $31.80 | $3.60 | $4.21 |
| March 2017 | $7.64 | $33.31 | $3.40 | $4.41 |
| April 2017 | No supported value | |||
| May 2017 | $10.19 | $36.59 | $3.50 | $4.85 |
| June 2017 | $11.42 | $36.25 | $3.29 | $4.80 |
| July 2017 | $12.86 | $37.10 | $3.21 | $4.92 |
| August 2017 | No supported value | |||
| September 2017 | $25.37 | $49.24 | $3.16 | $6.52 |
| October 2017 | No supported value | |||
| November 2017 | $8.33 | $33.87 | $3.38 | $4.49 |
| December 2017 | $12.14 | $39.94 | $3.68 | $5.29 |
| January 2018 | $7.33 | $46.60 | $5.20 | $6.17 |
| February 2018 | $5.06 | $32.45 | $3.63 | $4.30 |
| March 2018 | No supported value | |||
| April 2018 | No supported value | |||
| May 2018 | No supported value | |||
| June 2018 | No supported value | |||
| July 2018 | No supported value | |||
| August 2018 | No supported value | |||
| September 2018 | $20.66 | $44.20 | $3.12 | $5.86 |
| October 2018 | No supported value | |||
| November 2018 | No supported value | |||
| December 2018 | No supported value | |||
| January 2019 | $13.04 | $43.39 | $4.02 | $5.75 |
| February 2019 | No supported value | |||
| March 2019 | No supported value | |||
| April 2019 | No supported value | |||
| May 2019 | No supported value | |||
| June 2019 | No supported value | |||
| July 2019 | No supported value | |||
| August 2019 | No supported value | |||
| September 2019 | No supported value | |||
| October 2019 | No supported value | |||
| November 2019 | No supported value | |||
| December 2019 | No supported value | |||
| January 2020 | No supported value | |||
| February 2020 | No supported value | |||
| March 2020 | No supported value | |||
| April 2020 | No supported value | |||
| May 2020 | No supported value | |||
| June 2020 | No supported value | |||
| July 2020 | No supported value | |||
| August 2020 | No supported value | |||
| September 2020 | No supported value | |||
| October 2020 | No supported value | |||
| November 2020 | No supported value | |||
| December 2020 | No supported value | |||
| January 2021 | No supported value | |||
| February 2021 | −$44.31 | $87.24 | $17.43 | $11.56 |
| March 2021 | No supported value | |||
| April 2021 | No supported value | |||
| May 2021 | No supported value | |||
| June 2021 | No supported value | |||
| July 2021 | $17.74 | $48.59 | $4.09 | $6.44 |
| August 2021 | No supported value | |||
| September 2021 | No supported value | |||
| October 2021 | No supported value | |||
| November 2021 | No supported value | |||
| December 2021 | No supported value | |||
| January 2022 | No supported value | |||
| February 2022 | No supported value | |||
| March 2022 | No supported value | |||
| April 2022 | No supported value | |||
| May 2022 | No supported value | |||
| June 2022 | No supported value | |||
| July 2022 | No supported value | |||
| August 2022 | No supported value | |||
| September 2022 | No supported value | |||
| October 2022 | No supported value | |||
| November 2022 | No supported value | |||
| December 2022 | No supported value | |||
| January 2023 | No supported value | |||
| February 2023 | No supported value | |||
| March 2023 | No supported value | |||
| April 2023 | No supported value | |||
| May 2023 | No supported value | |||
| June 2023 | No supported value | |||
| July 2023 | $31.74 | $54.44 | $3.01 | $7.21 |
| August 2023 | No supported value | |||
| September 2023 | No supported value | |||
| October 2023 | No supported value | |||
| November 2023 | No supported value | |||
| December 2023 | No supported value | |||
| January 2024 | No supported value | |||
| February 2024 | No supported value | |||
| March 2024 | No supported value | |||
| April 2024 | No supported value | |||
| May 2024 | No supported value | |||
| June 2024 | No supported value | |||
| July 2024 | No supported value | |||
| August 2024 | No supported value | |||
| September 2024 | No supported value | |||
| October 2024 | No supported value | |||
| November 2024 | No supported value | |||
| December 2024 | No supported value | |||
| January 2025 | No supported value | |||
| February 2025 | No supported value | |||
| March 2025 | No supported value | |||
| April 2025 | No supported value | |||
| May 2025 | No supported value | |||
| June 2025 | No supported value | |||
| July 2025 | No supported value | |||
| August 2025 | No supported value | |||
| September 2025 | No supported value | |||
| October 2025 | No supported value | |||
| November 2025 | No supported value | |||
| December 2025 | No supported value | |||
| January 2026 | No supported value | |||
| February 2026 | No supported value | |||
| March 2026 | No supported value | |||
| April 2026 | No supported value | |||
| May 2026 | No supported value | |||
| June 2026 | No supported value | |||
| July 2026 | No supported value | |||
Compare hubs in February 2021
| Hub | Spark spread ($/MWh) |
|---|---|
| Mass Hub | −$55.42 |
| PJM West | −$80.44 |
| Indiana Hub · shown | −$44.31 |
| Mid-C | −$80.50 |
| NP-15 | No valueLast supported: February 2019 |
| SP-15 | −$53.87 |
| Palo Verde | −$55.85 |
Latest page month
In July 2026, all six hubs with a value that month cleared a reference combined-cycle plant’s U.S. delivered gas-cost benchmark; one hub has no value for it.
Explore the grid around Indiana Hub
These Atlas pages provide geographic context. The links do not define the hub’s market boundary or its gas cost. Every spread uses the same U.S. gas-cost benchmark.
What this comparison leaves out
- This is a fuel margin, not a profit. It leaves out operating and maintenance cost, capital cost, capacity payments and ancillary revenue.
- On-peak power only. These are next-trading-day on-peak power prices; nights and weekends are excluded from the power leg. The gas cost is a monthly U.S. survey average of fuel received by electric-power generators, including delivery. It is not a traded gas-hub price or the cost of gas burned in that month.
- No carbon cost. Generators in RGGI states and California also buy allowances, which this leaves out.
- A reference plant, not a real one. The heat rate is an EIA fleet average for the technology, not any particular plant’s.
- A hub is a market, not the nation. Each power price is local; the fuel benchmark is the same national average for all seven hubs. Their different footprints make this a comparison, not an individual plant margin or an estimate of each hub’s local gas cost.
- A common month only. EIA-923 fuel costs arrive later than power trades. A spread appears only after both inputs cover that month; the page names the latest common month and never combines different months.
A gas-turbine peaker burns about 10.999 MMBtu per MWh in the same EIA table, so the same power price covers a lower gas price for it; only the combined-cycle line is drawn.
Much of the country trades power outside these hubs, so it is not shown.