Analysis and Simulation of Strategic Behavior and Price Processes in Transmission Constrained Electricity Markets

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Deregulation and restructuring of the electricity industry is fundamentally changing a sector of the economy that is crucial to our standard of living. Electricity restructuring is occurring or has occurred in many countries and, in particular, in many states of the United States, with change accelerating subsequent to orders instituted by the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1996. Restructuring has the potential to unleash competition in the generation sector of the electricity industry, spurring reductions in the costs of electricity production and of electricity delivery and consequent gains for consumers. There is a pressing need to understand the ramifications of electricity market restructuring and to benefit from the experiences in electricity markets that are developing throughout the United States and the world. However, various disciplines are strongly inter-related in the analysis of electricity markets and, consequently, research demands a coordinated, inter-disciplinary approach. This proposal is for inter-disciplinary research in the analysis of restructured electricity markets and for holding an inter-disciplinary research workshop on electricity markets. The research will involve significant interaction between faculty and graduate students and prepare these students for careers that integrate ideas from several disciplines. The three goals of this project are: 1. to develop models of electricity prices over time, 2. to develop models of strategic behavior in transmission-constrained electricity markets, and 3. to hold a workshop on electricity market organization and design. The model development goals require coordination across several disciplines: electrical engineering, finance, and public policy. The principal investigators combine expertise from these areas. The proposed work involves both the development of analytical methods and the implementation of these methods in software. The results of this project will include enhancements to the University of Texas electricity market model as well as journal papers describing the analytical methods and software.