​In June 2026, the capacity market, not energy scarcity, drove the gap between zones in NYISO, led by New York City. Capacity was 82% of that the reference price rather than energy spikes.

New York City's reference price reached $266/MW-day in June 2026, more than double any other zone in the state. The city's unforced capacity (UCAP) cleared at $32.53/kW-month in the June auction, about four times the statewide price, after in-city supply came within 0.09% of the requirement. This was driven by a delay on availability of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CPHE), which connects Canadian hydropower to NYC.

Key takeaways

• New York City's reference price hit $266/MW-day, more than double any other zone. Capacity was 82% of that value, driven by a June auction that cleared at $32.53/kW-month on 0.09% excess supply.
• The Reference Capacity Price (RCP) split NYISO in two. New York City's RCP was $219/MW-day, against $54/MW-day for the rest of the state
• Day-ahead four-hour top-bottom (TB4) spreads led downstate. Long Island topped the state at $196/MW-day and New York City followed at $190/MW-day, setting the highest Reference Energy Arbitrage Price (REAP) values.
• Real-time top-bottom spreads were higher than day-ahead in every zone. New York City's real-time price peaked at $612/MWh, 27% of June 2025's $2,236/MWh peak.

New York City's reference price sat more than double every other zone

The reference price is the ISC benchmark, expressed in $/MW-day. It adds a capacity term (RCP) and an energy term (REAP).

New York City led at $266/MW-day. Long Island came second at $128/MW-day. The Lower Hudson Valley zones (Hudson Valley, Millwood, and Dunwoodie, zones G through I) clustered at $96 to $97/MW-day. The rest of the state ran between $84/MW-day in West and $95/MW-day in Central. West was the lowest reference price in New York.

The split was almost entirely capacity. New York City's RCP alone, at $219/MW-day, exceeded the full reference price of every other zone. The rest of the difference came from the day-ahead spread, which sets each zone's REAP.

New York City is transmission-constrained, so NYISO needs a minimum share of the state's capacity to sit inside the city. When in-city supply is tight, the New York City capacity market clears far above the unconstrained rest of the state. New York City UCAP cleared at $32.53/kW-month. Long Island cleared at $11.70/kW-month, with 4.66% excess supply. The rest of the state cleared at $7.87/kW-month, on 3% excess.

June sits inside the 2026-27 Capability Year, so the accreditation factors carry forward from May. The 2026-27 CHPE-Out CAF was 82.3% for the rest of state, 81.8% for the Lower Hudson Valley (zones G through I), 80.8% for New York City, and 81.0% for Long Island.

Day-ahead spreads in NYISO were higher downstate

REAP is a quarter of the day-ahead TB4 spread. So the day-ahead market sets the energy component of the reference price.

Long Island led the day-ahead spread at $196/MW-day, for a REAP of $49/MW-day. New York City followed at $190/MW-day, for a REAP of $47/MW-day. The Lower Hudson Valley zones ran $171-$174/MW-day in the day-ahead. The upstate zones clustered lower, with West weakest at $122/MW-day and a REAP of $30/MW-day.

Long Island therefore carried the highest REAP in the state. But its low capacity price left its total reference price at less than half New York City's.

NYISO real-time volatility eased YoY as summer heat stayed short of 2025

June 2026 was a calmer energy month than a year earlier. New York City's real-time price averaged $54/MWh across the month and peaked at $612/MWh on June 10 in the 2 PM hour (hour ending 3 PM).

The year-over-year decline is a base effect, not an unusually calm 2026. Last June's heat dome pushed NYISO to a 32 GW peak across 54 hours above 25 GW and drove Central Park to a record 99°F. In contrast, June 2026 peaked at 28 GW over just 17 such hours.

That peak was about a quarter of June 2025's, when the city's real-time price reached $2,236/MWh. The city's 5 PM peak-hour price ran 42% below the year-earlier level ($102/MWh against $175/MWh), and afternoon prices overall ran 23% lower.

Two heat episodes hit downstate New York. The mid-June East Coast heatwave on June 10 to 12 drove the month's $612/MWh peak. Another heatwave closed out June, expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to downstate New York,

Neither episode reproduced 2025's scarcity. Real-time TB4 spreads fell across the state year over year. New York City's real-time spread averaged $290/MW-day, down from $559/MW-day a year earlier. Long Island's fell to $270/MW-day from $781/MW-day.

Regulation led ancillary prices across NYISO, peaking at $77/MWh on June 11

Ancillary service prices tracked the same June 10 heat. Real-time regulation peaked at $77/MWh on June 11, against a monthly median of $12/MWh. Reserves peaked the same day, with 10-minute spinning at $62/MWh and 30-minute operating at $58/MWh from a near-zero baseline.

Regulation and reserves sit outside the reference price, which credits only capacity and the day-ahead energy spread. The ISC settles a battery against that reference, so regulation and reserve revenue counts toward earning beyond the strike price.

What does June tell us?

New York City's reference price sat more than double every other zone in June 2026, and capacity was 82% of that value. A scarcity-tight in-city auction, clearing 0.09% above the requirement, set the city's UCAP at about four times the statewide price.

Energy was less volatile compared to June 2025. Day-ahead spreads were weighted towards downstate, but real-time volatility eased year over year as summer heat stayed short of 2025's scarcity with elevated temps.

For most of New York, the reference price still tracks the capacity clearing price, and energy arbitrage and ancillary services are where batteries can outperform it.