The key thing to understand is that the electricity market is unusual in that electricity can't be easily "stockpiled" the same way most commodities can be. Thi

The key thing to understand is that the electricity market is unusual in that electricity can't be easily "stockpiled" the same way most commodities can be. This means it needs to be produced at almost the same rate it's consumed. Some types of generators have long ramp-up/ramp-down times so it can actually be cheaper to keep them running and pay someone to consume the excess power they're producing compared to how much it would cost to stop them when the energy they're producing is no longer needed and then start back up again when it is. Additionally, some other types of generators (wind and solar) receive tax credits for every kWh they produce so even if you lose money selling the energy you can come out ahead when factoring in the tax credit.