Price Formation and Market Power in the German Wholesale Electricity Market in 2006

Weigt, Hannes and von Hirschhausen, Christian (2007): Price Formation and Market Power in the German Wholesale Electricity Market in 2006. Published in: Energy Policy , Vol. 36, No. 11 (November 2008): pp. 4227-4234.

Abstract

From 2002 to 2006, German wholesale electricity prices more than doubled. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the price components in 2006 in order to identify the factors responsible for the increase. We develop a competitive benchmark model, taking into account power plant characteristics, fuel and CO2-allowance prices, wind generation, cross-border flows, unit commitment and start-up conditions, to estimate the difference between generation costs and observed market prices for every hour in 2006. We find that prices at the German wholesale market (EEX) are above competitive levels for a large fraction of the observations. We verify the robustness of the results by carrying out sensitivity analyses. We also address the issue of revenue adequacy.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: electricity; Germany; market power
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D4 - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design > D43 - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection; L - Industrial Organization > L1 - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance > L13 - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets; L - Industrial Organization > L9 - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities > L94 - Electric Utilities

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