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Electricity Market Modeling Trends PDF
Electricity Market Modeling Trends PDF
Abstract— The trend towards competition in the electricity sector has led to efforts by the research
community to develop decision and analysis support models adapted to the new market context. This
paper focuses on electricity generation market modeling. Its aim is to help to identify, classify and
characterize the somewhat confusing diversity of approaches that can be found in the technical literature
on the subject. The paper presents a survey of the most relevant publications regarding electricity market
modeling, identifying three major trends: optimization models, equilibrium models and simulation
models. It introduces a classification according to their most relevant attributes. Finally, it identifies the
most suitable approaches for conducting various types of planning studies or market analysis in this new
context.
Index Terms— Deregulated electric power systems, power generation scheduling, market
behavior.
* Corresponding author
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1 Introduction
In the last decade, the electricity industry has experienced significant changes towards
deregulation and competition with the aim of improving economic efficiency. In many places,
these changes have culminated in the appearance of a wholesale electricity market. In this
new context, the actual operation of the generating units no longer depends on state- or
utility-based centralized procedures but rather on decentralized decisions of generation firms
whose goals are to maximize their own profits. All firms compete to provide generation
services at a price set by the market, as a result of the interaction of all of them and the
demand.
Therefore, electricity firms are exposed to significantly higher risks and their need for
suitable decision-support models has greatly increased. On the other hand, regulatory
agencies also require analysis-support models in order to monitor and supervise market
behavior.
Traditional electrical operation models are a poor fit to the new circumstances since
market behavior, the new driving force for any operation decision, was not modeled in.
Hence, a new area of highly interesting research for the electrical industry has opened up.
Numerous publications give evidence of extensive effort by the research community to
develop electricity market models adapted to the new competitive context.
This paper focuses on electricity generation market modeling. Two main technical features
determine the complexity of such models: the product “electricity” cannot be stored and its
transportation requires a physical link (transmission lines).
On the one hand, these features explain why electricity market modeling usually requires
the representation of the underlying technical characteristics and limitations of the production
assets. Pure economic or financial models used in other kind of activities do a poor job of
explaining electrical market behavior. This paper deals specifically with those models that
combine a detailed representation of the physical system with rational modeling of the firms’
behavior.
On the other hand, unless a high interregional or international capacity interconnection
exists or a very proactive divestiture program is prompted (and this is true for very few
countries), only a handful of firms are expected to participate in each wholesale electricity
market. Proper market models, in most cases, must deal with imperfectly competitive
markets, which are much more complex to represent. This paper focuses on these kinds of
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models.
The aim of this paper is to help to identify, classify and characterize the somewhat
confusing diversity of approaches that can be found in the technical literature on the subject.
The paper presents a survey of the most relevant publications regarding electricity market
modeling, identifying three major trends: optimization models, equilibrium models and
simulation models. Although there is a large number of papers devoted to modeling the
operation of deregulated power systems, in this survey only a selection of the most relevant
has been considered for brevity’s sake. An original taxonomy of these models is also
introduced in order to classify them according to specific attributes: degree of competition,
time scope, uncertainty modeling, interperiod links, transmission constraints and market
representation. These specific characteristics are helpful to understand the advantages and
limits of each model surveyed in this paper. Finally, the paper identifies which approaches are
most suitable for each purpose (i.e., planning studies or market analysis), including risk
management, which is an increasingly important market issue.
Four articles, Smeers (1997), Kahn (1998), Hobbs (2001) and Day et al. (2002), have
already addressed the classification of these approaches. The first points out how game
theory-based models can be used to explore relevant aspects of the design and regulation of
liberalized energy markets. It also introduces the application of multistage-equilibrium
models in the context of investment in deregulated electricity markets. Kahn (1998) surveys
numerical techniques for analyzing market power in electricity focusing on equilibrium
models, based on profit maximization of participants, which assume oligopolistic
competition. Two kinds of equilibria are mentioned in this survey. The commonest one is
based on Cournot competition, where firms compete in quantity. In contrast, in the Supply
Function Equilibrium approach (SFE), firms compete both in quantity and price. The
conclusion is that Cournot is more flexible and tractable, and for this reason it has attracted
more interest. More recently, Hobbs (2001) presents a brief overview of the related literature,
concentrating on Cournot-based models. Finally, Day et al. (2002) perform a more detailed
survey of the power market modeling literature with emphasis on equilibrium models. The
new survey presented in this paper does not offer a significantly different vision of the
existing electricity market modeling trends but rather a complementary and unifying one. It
constitutes an effort to organize and characterize the existing proposals so as to clarify their
main contributions and shortfalls and pave the way toward future developments.
The paper is organized as follows. Section II summarizes the classification scheme used in
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the survey. Section III describes the publications related to optimization models, whereas
Section IV focuses on those related to equilibrium models. Section V presents the
publications devoted to simulation models. Section VI details the proposed taxonomy for
electricity market models. Section VII points out the major uses of each modeling approach
and, finally, Section VIII provides some conclusions.
From a structural point of view, the different approaches that have been proposed in the
technical literature can be classified according to the scheme shown in Fig. 1.
Exogenous
Optimization Price
Problem for
One Firm Demand-price
Function
Cournot
Market Equilibrium
Electricity
Equilibrium
Market
Considering
Modeling Supply Function
All Firms
Equilibrium
Equilibrium
Models
Simulation
Models Agent-based
Models
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optimization program in which one firm pursues its maximum profit. There is a single
objective function to be optimized subject to a set of technical and economic constraints. In
contrast, both equilibrium and simulation-based models consider the simultaneous profit
maximization program of each firm competing in the market. Both types of models are
schematically represented in Fig. 2, where Π f represents the profit of each firm
f ∈ {1," ,F } ; x f are firm f’s decision variables; and h f ( x ) and g f ( x ) represent firm f's
constraints.
Single-firm
Optimization Model Equilibrium Model
maximize : Π f
( x) maximize : Π 1 ( x1 ) maximize : Π f
(x )
f
maximize : Π F
(x )
F
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suitable to long-term planning and market power analysis since they consider all participants.
The modeling flexibility of simulation models allows for a wide range of purposes although
there is still some controversy as to the appropriate uses of agent-based models. The major
uses of existing electricity models are presented in more detail in Section 7.
In this paper, approaches based on the profit maximization problem of one firm are
grouped together into the single-firm optimization category. These models take into account
relevant operational constraints of the generation system owned by the firm of interest as well
as the price clearing process. According to the manner in which this process is represented,
these models can be classified into two types: price modeled as an exogenous variable and
price modeled as a function of the demand supplied by the firm of study.
1 Many later models are based on the same assumptions, thus leading to similar conclusions.
2 A large-scale problem with complicating constraints is amenable for a dual decomposition solution strategy,
commonly known as Lagrangian Relaxation approach.
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generator’s marginal cost and the market price decides the production of each generator;
therefore, the best offer of each generation unit consists of bidding its marginal cost.
Stochastic models: The previous approach can be improved if price uncertainty is
explicitly considered. For instance, Rajamaran et al. (2001) describe and solve the self-
commitment problem of a generation firm in the presence of exogenous price uncertainty. The
objective function to be maximized is the firm’s profit, based on the prices of energy and
reserve at the nodes where the firm’s units are located, which are assumed to be both
exogenously determined and uncertain. Similarly to the Gross and Finlay approach, the
authors correctly interpret that, in this setting, the scheduling problem for each generating unit
can be treated independently, which significantly simplifies the process of obtaining a
solution, thus permitting a detailed representation of each unit. The problem is solved using
backward Dynamic Programming and several numerical examples illustrate the possibilities
of this approach.
A number of recent models represent the price of electricity as an uncertain exogenous
variable in the context of deciding the operation of the generating units and at the same time
adopting risk-hedging measures. Fleten et al. (1997; 2002) address the medium-term risk
management problem of electricity producers that participate in the Nord Pool. These firms
face significant uncertainty in hydraulic inflows and prices of spot market and contract
markets. Considering that prices and inflows are highly correlated, they propose a stochastic
programming model coordinating physical generation resources and hedging through the
forward market. They model risk aversion by means of penalizing risk through a piecewise
linear target shortfall cost function. More recently, Unger (2002) improves the Fleten
approach by explicitly measuring the risk as Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR). Similar to the
models proposed by Fleten and Unger, another stochastic approach, which focuses on the
solution method, is presented in Pereira (1999). The resulting large-scale optimization
program is solved using the Benders decomposition technique, in which the entire firm’s
maximization problem is decomposed into a financial master-problem and an operation sub-
problem. While the financial master-problem produces financial decisions related to the
purchase of financial assets (forwards, options, futures and so forth), the operation sub-
problems decide both the dispatch of the physical generation system and the exercise of
financial assets providing feedback to the financial problem. The master-problem and sub-
problems are solved using linear programming.
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3
From the point of view of one firm, its residual-demand function is obtained by subtracting the aggregation
of all competitors’ selling offers from the demand-side’s buy bids. The term residual-demand function is also
known as effective demand function.
4
The Unit Commitment Problem deals with the short-term schedule of thermal units in order to supply the
electricity demand in an efficient manner. In this type of model the main decision variables are generators start-
ups and shut-downs.
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short-term uncertainties in the marketplace. The thesis of Baíllo (2002) advances the
Anderson and Philpott approach by incorporating a detailed modeling of the generating
system which implies that offer curves of different hours are not independent.
4 Equilibrium Models
5
The Hydrothermal Coordination Problem provides the optimal allocation of hydraulic and thermal
generation resources for a specific planning horizon by explicitly considering the fuel cost savings that can be
obtained due to an intelligent use of hydro reserves.
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Mixed Complementarity Problem6 (MCP) structure, which allows for the use of special
complementarity methods to solve realistically sized problems. Kelman et al. (2001) combine
the Cournot concept with the Stochastic Dynamic Programming technique in order to cope
with hydraulic inflow uncertainty problems. However, they do not mention how they deal
with the fact that the recourse function7 of the Dynamic Programming algorithm is non-
convex in equilibrium problems. Barquín et al. (2003) introduce an original approach to
compute market equilibrium, by solving an equivalent minimization problem. This approach
is oriented to the medium-term planning of large-size hydrothermal systems, including the
determination of water value and other sensitivity results obtained as dual variables of the
optimization problem.
Electric power network: Congestion pricing in transmission networks is another area in
which Cournot-based models have also played a significant role. Both Hogan (1997) and
Oren (1997) formulate a spatial electricity model wherein firms compete in a Cournot
manner. Wei and Smeers (1999) use a Variational Inequality8 (VI) approach for computing
the spatial market equilibrium including generation capacity expansion decisions. They model
the electrical network considering only power-flow conservation-equations since they omit
Kirchhoff’s voltage law. This type of electric network model is known as transshipment
model.
More recently, Hobbs (2001) models imperfect competition among electricity producers in
bilateral and POOLCO-based power markets as a Linear Complementarity Problem (LCP). 9
His model includes a congestion-pricing scheme for transmission in which load flows are
modeled considering both the first and the second Kirchhoff laws by means of a linearized
formulation. This type of electric network model is known as DC model. In contrast to
previous models, the VI and LCP approaches are able to cope with large problems. In all
these models it is assumed that the generation units of each firm are located at only one node
of the network—which is, obviously, a particular case. Unfortunately, since in the general
6
The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions of any optimization problem can be formulated
making use of a special mathematical structure known as Complementarity Problem. A Mixed Complementarity
Problem (MCP) is a mixture of equations with a Complementarity Problem.
7
In the Hydrothermal Coordination Problem, the recourse function is known as the future water value.
8
KKT conditions can also be formulated as a Variational Inequality (VI) problem.
9
A Linear Complementarity Problem (LCP) is obtained when the KKT conditions are derived from an
optimization problem with quadratic objective function and linear constraints.
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case in which each firm is allowed to own generation units in more than one node, a pure-
strategy equilibrium does not exist, as it is pointed out by Neuhoff (2003).
Risk analysis: Finally, because of the difficulty in applying traditional risk management
techniques to electricity markets, only one publication has been identified that explicitly
addresses the risk management problem for generation firms under imperfect competition
conditions. Batlle et al. (2000) present a procedure capable of taking into account some risk
factors such as hydraulic inflows, demand growth and fuel costs. Cournot market behavior is
considered using the simulation model described in (Otero-Novas et al. 2000) which
computes market prices under a wide range of scenarios. The Batlle model provides risk
measures such as value-at-risk (VaR) or profit-at-risk (PaR).
10
In some respects, the models’ predicted prices are too high because they do not take into account some of
the external circumstances such as stranded cost payments, new entry aversion or regulatory threats.
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assume that firms make conjectures about their residual demand elasticities, as in the general
conjectural variations approach, whereas Day et al. (2002) assume that firms make
conjectures about their rivals’ supply functions. In the context of electricity markets this
approach is already labeled as the Conjectured Supply Function (CSF) approach.
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profitable and therefore has a greater incentive to submit a steeper supply function. The small
firm then faces a less elastic residual demand curve and also tends to deviate from its
marginal costs. This was previously pointed out by Bolle (1992), where the large generation
company suffers the consequences of the curse of market power and indirectly causes an
increase of its rivals’ profits.
Electricity pricing: The possibility of obtaining reasonable medium-term price estimations
with the SFE approach is considerably attractive, particularly when conventional equilibrium
models based on the Cournot conjecture have proven to be unreliable in this aspect mainly
due to their strong dependence on the elasticity assumed for the demand curve. Indeed, the
SFE framework does not require the residual demand curve either to be elastic or to be known
in advance. Based on the assumption of inelastic demand, further advances on the SFE theory
have been reported which increase its applicability. Rudkevich (1998) has obtained a closed-
form expression that provides the price for a SFE given a demand realization under the
assumption of an n-firm symmetric oligopoly with inelastic demand and uniform pricing.
Convergence problems due to the numerical integration of the SFE system of differential
equations are thus overcome. This approach also allows to consider stepwise marginal cost
functions, which is more realistic than the convex and differentiable cost functions typical of
previous SFE models.
Linear Supply Function equilibrium models: For numerical tractability reasons, researchers
have recently focused on the linear SFE model, in which demand is linear,11 marginal costs
are linear or affine and SFE can be obtained in terms of linear or affine supply functions.
Green (1996) considers the case of an asymmetric n-firm oligopoly with linear marginal costs
facing a linear demand curve whose slope remains invariable over time. An SFE expressed in
terms of affine supply functions is obtained. Baldick et al. (2000) extend previous results to
the case of affine marginal cost functions and capacity constraints. Solutions for the SFE are
provided in the form of piecewise affine non-decreasing supply functions. They use this
method to predict the extent to which structural changes in the E&W electricity industry may
affect wholesale electricity spot prices. Baldick and Hogan (2001) perform a comprehensive
review of the SFE approach. The authors first revisit the general SFE problem of an
asymmetric n-firm oligopoly facing a linear demand curve (no explicit assumption is made
concerning the firms’ marginal costs) and show the extraordinary complexity of obtaining
11
According to Baldick (2000), the precise description would be “affine demand”, whereas the term “linear”
should be restricted to affine functions with zero intercept.
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solutions for the system of differential equations that results. In particular, they highlight the
difficulty of discarding infeasible solutions (e.g., equilibria with decreasing supply functions).
An iterative procedure to calculate feasible SFE solutions is proposed and extensively used to
analyze the influence of a variety of factors such as capacity constraints, price caps, bid caps
or the time horizon over which offers are required to remain unchanged.
Electric power network: In Ferrero et al. (1997), generation companies are assumed to
offer one affine supply curve at each of the nodes in which their units are located. Transaction
costs are calculated based on Schweppe’s spot pricing theory, including the influence of
transmission constraints. A finite number of offering strategies are defined for each
generation company and an exhaustive enumeration solution process is proposed. Berry et al.
(1999) use an SFE model to predict the outcome of a given market structure including an
explicit representation of the transmission network. Forcing supply functions to be affine
typically alleviates the complexity of searching for a solution. Different conceptual
approaches have been adopted to obtain numerical solutions for this family of models. In
general, no existence or uniqueness conditions are derived. Hobbs et al. (2000) propose a
model in which the strategy of each firm takes the form of a set of nodal affine supply
functions. The problem is structured in two optimization levels and therefore the solution
procedure is based on Mathematical Programming with Equilibrium Constraints (MPEC).
In spite of the variety of modeling proposals, it is possible to identify a number of
attributes that can be used to establish a comparison between different SFE approaches. Some
of these attributes refer to the market representation adopted by each author, such as the
possibility of considering asymmetric firms and the assumptions made about the shape of the
marginal cost curves, the supply functions or the demand curve. Others attributes refer to the
model of the generation system (e.g., capacity constraints) or the transmission network (e.g.,
transmission constraints). Finally, the solution method used by each author and the numerical
cases addressed are also two relevant features. In order to illustrate the evolution of this line
of research, Table 1 presents a summary of the works that have been reviewed in this section.
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Hobbs, 2000 Yes Affine Linear Affine Yes MPEC Yes 30-node Case
In conclusion, the SFE approach presents certain advantages with respect to more
traditional models of imperfect competition. In particular, it appears to be an appropriate
model to predict medium-term prices of electricity, given that it does not rely on the demand
function12, as the Cournot model, but on the shape of the equilibrium supply functions
decided by the firms. In addition to this, firms’ strategies do not need to be modified as
demand evolves over time. Quite the opposite, supply functions are specifically conceived to
represent the firms’ behavior under a variety of demand scenarios. This flexibility, however,
is accompanied by significant practical limitations concerning numerical tractability. To date,
only under very strong assumptions have SFE problems been solved when applied to real
cases. Given that SFE shortcomings are well documented, only the main disadvantages will
be cited here. Firstly, in general multiple SFE may exist and it is not clear which of them is
more qualified to represent firms’ strategic behavior. Secondly, except for very simple
versions of the SFE model, existence and uniqueness of a solution are very hard to prove.
Thirdly, closed-form expressions of a solution are very rarely obtained. Consequently,
numerical methods are needed to solve the system of differential equations, thus increasing
the computational requirements of this approach. Moreover, some of this system’s solutions
may violate the non-decreasing constraint that supply functions must observe. This leads to
ad hoc solution procedures that usually present convergence problems. Needless to say,
transmission constraints are only considered in extremely simplified versions of the SFE
12
In general, SFE-based approaches model the demand function as inelastic, which is the most suitable
hypothesis in the case of electricity.
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model. Nevertheless, research efforts have recently produced encouraging results that may
ultimately increase the applicability of this approach.
5 Simulation Models
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Additionally, they evaluate the influence of allowing companies to submit different offers for
each hour, instead of keeping them unchanged for the whole day. The conclusion is that daily
bidding together with uniform pricing yields the lowest prices, whereas hourly bidding under
the pay-as-bid rule leads to the highest prices.
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Competition
Nash Nash
Leader in Equilibrium Equilibrium
Oligopoly
Price (Cournot and (Cournot and
SFE) Stackelberg)
Fig 3. Theoretical electricity market models depending on competition and time scope
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based on both Cournot equilibrium (Scott and Read, 1996; Bushnell, 1998; Rivier et al. 2001;
Kelman et al. 2001; Barquín et al. 2003; Otero-Novas et al. 2000) and supply function
equilibrium (Green and Newberry, 1992; Bolle, 1992; Rudkevich et al. 1998; Baldick and
Hogan, 2001).
Finally, microeconomics suggests that the Stackelberg equilibrium may fit better than
other oligopolistic models with the long-term investment-decision problem due to its
sequential decision-making process. There is a leader firm that first decides its optimal
capacity; the follower firms then make their optimal decisions knowing the capacity of the
leader firm (Varian, 1992). Up to now, there are only a few articles (Ventosa et al. 2002;
Murphy and Smeers, 2002) devoted to represent investment in imperfect electricity markets.
In both publications, a comparison between the Cournot equilibrium and Stackelberg
equilibrium for modeling investment decisions is conducted. One conclusion is that although
from a theoretical point of view both models are based on different assumptions, from a
practical point of view there are minor differences in most results. The Stackelberg model of
Ventosa et al. turns out to have the structure of a Mathematical Problem with Equilibrium
Constraints (MPEC) due to the fact that there is only one leader firm. In contrast, the
Stackelberg-based model of Murphy and Smeers has the structure of an Equilibrium Problem
with Equilibrium Constraints (EPEC) because more that one leader firm may exist. The EPEC
model is more general although it is also more difficult to manage.
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since they all consider uncertainty in demand. Based on a probabilistic version of the price-
leadership model, the Baíllo model (2002) not only considers the uncertainty in demand but
also in competitors’ behavior. Finally, Fleten (2002), and Unger (2002) models focus on
uncertainty in prices and hydraulic inflows under pure competition assumptions, while
Kelman (2001) considers a Cournot framework.
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Uncertainty
Intraperiod Interperiod
constraints constraints
Single
Node
Probabilistic
Transshipment
Model
DC
Model Deterministic
AC Interperiod
Model Links
Single
Node
Transshipment
Model
DC
Model
Probabilistic
AC
Model
Deterministic
Intraperiod Interperiod
Constraints Constraints
Transmission
Network
Fig. 4. Characterization of some electricity market models according to the modeling of uncertainty,
transmission network and interperiod links
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Single-firm Imperfect
Uncertainty Exogenous Residual Market
Price Demand Equilibrium
Low
Probabilistic
Medium
High Deterministic
Market
Modeling
Low
Probabilistic
Medium
Deterministic
High
Fig. 5. Characterization of some electricity market models according to the treatment of uncertainty,
generation system modeling and market modeling
7 Major Uses
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optimization models, imperfect market equilibrium models and simulation models (see Table
2).
One-firm optimization models are able to deal with difficult and detailed problems because
of their better computational tractability. Good examples of such models are those related to
short-term hydrothermal coordination and unit commitment, which require binary variables,
and optimal offer curve construction under uncertainty, which not only needs binary variables
but also involves a probabilistic representation of the competitors’ offers and demand-side
bids. Usually, risk management models are also based on optimization due to their complexity
and size.
TABLE 2. MAJOR USES OF ELECTRICITY MARKET MODELS
One-firm Optimization Simulation
Major Use Imperfect Market Equilibrium Models
Models Models
(Fleten, 2002; Unger,
Risk Management
2002; Pereira, 1999)
(García, 1999;
Unit Commitment
Rajamaran, 2001)
Short-Term Hydrothermal
(Baíllo, 2001)
Coordination
(Anderson & Philpott,
Strategic Bidding
2002; Baíllo, 2002)
(Green, 1992; Bolle, 1992; Rudkevich, 1998;
(Day & Bunn,
Market Power Analysis Borenstein, 1995&1999; Baldick,
2001)
2000&2001)
(Bower & Bunn,
Market Design (Green, 1996; Baldick, 2000 & 2001)
2000)
Yearly Economic (Otero-Novas,
(Ramos, 1998)
Planning 2000)
Long-Term Hydrothermal (Scott, 1996; Bushnell, 1998; Rivier, 2001;
Coordination Kelman, 2001; Barquín, 2003)
Capacity Expansion
(Murphy & Smeers, 2002; Ventosa, 2002)
Planning
(Hogan, 1997; Oren, 1997; Hobbs, 2000 &
Congestion Management
2001; Wei & Smeers, 1999; Berry, 1999)
In contrast, when long-term planning studies are conducted, equilibrium models are more
suitable because the longer the time scope of the study, the lower the requirement for detailed
modeling capability, and the more significant the response of all competitors. Therefore, the
majority of models devoted to yearly economic planning and hydrothermal coordination are
Cournot-based approaches, which provide more realism in the representation of physical
constraints than SFE-based approaches, that have numerical tractability limitations.
As in the case of long-term studies, in market power analysis and market design, it is also
necessary to consider the market outcome resulting from competition among all participants.
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Consequently, equilibrium models and simulation models are the best alternative to
traditional anti-trust tools based on indices such as Hirschman-Herfindahl Index (HHI) and
Lerner Index.
Finally, regarding the analysis of congestion management in transmission networks,
Cournot and SFE equilibrium models are able to simultaneously consider power flow
constraints and the competition of several firms at each node.
In conclusion, Table 3 summarizes the main characteristics of the most significant models
referred to in previous sections. The models are classified into eight categories depending on
their market model.13 Within each category, models are listed by year of publication. Other
columns are related to major use, main features of the model, numerical solution method,14
problem size15 of the case study and the regional market considered.
13
CSF: Conjectured Supply Function approach, and CV: Conjectural Variations approach.
14
Benders: Benders Decomposition, DP: Dynamic Programming, Enumeration: Exhaustive Enumeration,
EPEC: Equilibrium Program with Equilibrium Constraints, Heuristic: Ad hoc Heuristic Algorithm, LCP:
Linear Complementarity Problem, LP: Linear Programming, MCP: Mixed Complementarity Problem, MIP:
Mixed Integer Programming, MPEC: Mathematical Programming with Equilibrium Constraints, NI: Numerical
Integration, NLP: Non-Linear Programming, Simulation: Simulation Scenario Analysis, and VI: Variational
Inequality.
15
Small: less than 100 variables, Medium: between 100 and 10,000 variables, and Large: more than 10,000
variables.
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TABLE 3. MAJOR USES AND MAIN FEATURES OF THE REVIEWED MARKET MODELS
Solution Intended
Market Model Authors Year Major Use Main Feature Size
Method Market
Gross & Finlay. 1996 Generation Scheduling Deterministic Prices LP Large E&W
Fleten et al. 1997 Hydro And Risk Management Stochastic Prices & Inflows LP Large Nord Pool
Perfect
Competition and Pereira et al. 1999 Hydro And Risk Management Solution Method Benders Large
Exogenous price
Rajamaran et al. 2001 Unit Commitment Price Uncertainty DP Large
Unger 2002 Hydro And Risk Management Risk Modeling LP Large Nord Pool
García et al. 1999 Unit Commitment Thermal Modeling MIP Large Spain
Leader-in-price Baíllo et al. 2001 Short-Term Hydrothermal Coordination Non-Convex Profit MIP Large Spain
and Residual
Demand Function Anderson & Philpott 2002 Offer Curve Construction Stochastic Demand Function NLP Small New Zealand
Baíllo et al. 2002 Offer Curve Construction Practical Approach MIP Large Spain
Green & Newberry 1992 Market Power Analysis Symmetric Firms NI Small E&W
Supply
Function Bolle 1992 Market Power Analysis Symmetric Firms NI Small E&W
Equilibrium
Rudkevich et al. 1998 Market Power Analysis Closed-Form Solution Analytic Small Pennsylvania
Day & Bunn 2001 Market Power Analysis Asymmetric Firms Enumeration Medium E&W
Scott & Read 1996 Hydrothermal Coordination Hydro-Interperiod Links DP Medium New Zealand
Borenstein & Bushnell 1999 Market Power Analysis Radial Congestion Heuristic Medium California
Cournot Batlle et al. 2000 Risk Analysis Stochastic Prices & Inflows Simulation Large Spain
Equilibrium Otero-Novas et al. 2000 Yearly Economic Planning Agents’ Behavior Heuristic Large Spain
Kelman et al. 2000 Long-Term Hydrothermal Coordination Stochastic Inflows DP Large Brazil
Rivier et al. 2001 Hydrothermal Coordination Hydrothermal Modeling MCP Large Spain
Ventosa et al. 2002 Capacity Expansion Planning Investment Decisions MPEC Medium
Stackelberg
Murphy & Smeers 2002 Capacity Expansion Planning Investment Decisions EPEC Medium
CV García-Alcalde et al. 2002 Price Forecasting Fitting Procedure LCP Large Spain
CSF Day et al. 2002 Congestion Management DC Power Flow LCP Large E&W
Agent-based Bower & Bunn 2000 Market Design Learning Procedure Heuristic Medium E&W
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This paper presents a survey of the literature on electricity market models showing that
there are three main lines of development: optimization models, equilibrium models and
simulation models. These models differ as to their mathematical structure, market
representation, computational tractability and major uses.
In the case of single-firm optimization models, researchers have been developing models
that address problems such as the optimization of generation scheduling or the construction of
offer curves under perfect and imperfect competition conditions. At present, they are working
on two different challenges. On the one hand, they are tackling the cutting edge problem of
converting the offer curve of a generating firm into a robust risk hedging mechanism against
the short-term uncertainties due to changes in demand and competitors behavior. On the other
hand, they are developing risk management models that help firms to decide their optimal
position in spot, future and over-the-counter markets with an acceptable level of risk.
Models that evaluate the interaction of agents in wholesale electricity markets have
persistently stemmed from the game-theory concept of equilibrium. Some of these models
represent the equilibrium in terms of variational inequalities or, alternatively, in the form of a
complementarity problem, providing a framework to analyze realistic cases that include a
detailed representation of the generation system and the transmission network. This line of
research has also provided theoretical results relative to the design of electricity markets or to
the medium-term operation of hydrothermal systems in the new regulatory framework. As in
the case of optimization models, the research community is now trying to develop a new
generation of equilibrium models capable of taking risk management decisions under
imperfect competition.
On the subject of market representation, there are recent publications devoted to the
improvement of existing Cournot-based models. They propose the conjectural variations
approach to overcome the high sensitivity of the price-clearing process with respect to
demand representation typical of such models. Obviously, there are still questions to be
resolved. For instance, even when the simple Cournot conjecture is assumed, pure strategy
solutions may not exist if there are transmission constraints. Another example is that non-
decreasing supply functions may be unstable when generating capacity constraints are
considered.
The contribution of simulation models has been significant as well, on account of their
flexibility to incorporate more complex assumptions than those allowed by formal
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Accepted for publication in Energy Policy
equilibrium models. Simulation models can explore the influence that the repetitive
interaction of participants exerts on the evolution of wholesale electricity markets. In these
models, agents learn from past experience, improve their decision-making and adapt to
changes in the environment. This suggests that adaptive agent-based simulation techniques
can shed light on certain features of electricity markets ignored by static models and therefore
these techniques will be helpful in the analysis of new regulatory measures and market rules.
As a concluding remark, it should be pointed out that the impressive advances registered in
this research field underscore how much interest this matter has drawn during the last decade.
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