Tools for assessment of transmission-constrained market power in electricity markets

这项研究的目的是更好地理解电力市场中当供应紧张和输电限制约束时的市场力。该方法涉及将基本经济学原理与对电力市场结算结果的新的敏感性分析相结合，以评估市场参与者在电力市场加价的动机。这种方法直接解决了市场力量的决定因素，并避免了特别的市场力量指数。这种方法的智力优势来自两个因素。首先，在重组后的电力市场中，市场力仍然是一个有问题的问题，因此了解和分析市场力是一个重要的课题。第二，该方法从基本的经济学原理出发，并将其与电力市场清算的分析严格结合起来，建立了一个市场力指数。这与现有的在存在输电限制的情况下评估市场力量的特别方法形成了强烈对比。这种方法利用的指数，如赫芬达尔-赫希曼指数(HHI)，充其量只能在存在输电限制的情况下与市场力量有间接关系。该项目的更广泛影响包括将结果整合到德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校教授的现有市场研究生班中。此外，了解和量化电力市场中市场力的结构性驱动因素，使市场力监督者和监管机构能够更好地减轻市场力。在电力市场中市场力仍然普遍存在的情况下，正确识别和诊断电力市场中的市场力是极其重要的。

The objective of this research is to develop better understanding of market power in electricity markets when there are tight supply conditions and when transmission limits bind. The approach involves the combination of fundamental economics principles with a new sensitivity analysis of the results of electricity market clearing to assess the incentives for a market participant to mark-up their prices in an electricity market. This approach directly addresses the determinants of market power and avoids ad hoc indices of market power.The intellectual merit of this approach stems from two factors. The first is that market power continues to be a problematic issue in restructured electricity markets, so that understanding and analyzing market power is an important topic. The second is that the approach begins with basic economics principles and combines them rigorously with analysis of the clearing of electricity markets to establish an index of market power. This strongly contrasts with existing ad hoc approaches to assessment of market power in the presence of transmission constraints. Such approaches utilize indices, such as the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) that, at best, have only an indirect relationship with market power in the presence of transmission constraints.The broader impact of this project includes the integration of results into an existing graduate class on market that is taught at The University of Texas at Austin. Moreover, understanding and quantifying the structural drivers of market power in electricity markets enables a better approach to mitigating market power by market power monitors and regulatory agencies. Given that market power remains pervasive in electricity markets, it is extremely important to correctly identify and diagnose market power in electricity markets.