Controversial Results of the Reform of the Russian Electric Power Industry in 1986–2008

The article discusses the ambiguous results of the reform of the Russian electric power industry. Some of the intended goals of the reform have been achieved, while others have not yet been achieved, and the reform should be continued. Although more than 13 years have passed since the final stage of the reform, there is no agreement in the literature on many key issues characterizing the reform: an explanation of the reasons and factors that influenced the decision to reform the Russian electric power industry, the goals of the reform, the type of the reform model, the validity of its adaptation to the real Russian conditions and institutions that had developed by the beginning of the reform, the results of the reform and their value for society. It was found that contradictory results of the reform are caused by both objective and subjective factors. Along with obvious successes (e.g., denationalization of the industry) and obvious failures (including failure to create retail electricity markets) many results (elimination of vertical integration, level of competition on wholesale electricity markets, etc.) are not observable and have not received a clear and unambiguous assessment of their usefulness to society. Studies using modern economic theory and economic-mathematical modeling were required. No statistically significant economies of scale in electricity generation have been found in large companies generating electricity. Thus, the use of competition as a mechanism to coordinate the interests of society, producers and consumers of electricity and the creation of a wholesale electricity market is scientifically justified. Unification of small producers for their withdrawal to the wholesale electricity market should be accompanied by an economic analysis of the cost function of the united company. It is shown that in the short term the wholesale electricity market created in the first and second price zones is close to competitive, but in the long term there is a threat: this market may become uncompetitive.

Assessment of the Target Model Implementation in the Wholesale Electricity Market of Greece

The European Union Target Model aims to integrate European energy market by removing barriers to trade and align markets. The most important goals of the Target Model are to provide consistent prices, enhance liquidity, support cross boarder trading, facilitate interconnections, and coordinate the use of transmission system capacity. In that context, the smooth operation of both forward and spot markets is a core development that directly affects the good operation of the wholesale market. This paper examines the application of the Target Model in the wholesale electricity market of Greece and its impact on electricity prices. The study explores the time period before the implementation of the Target Model, which took place on November 2020, and the first nine months of its execution. Based on the feedback received by the rest of the European countries, which are already part of the European Single Market, this crucial period of time is considered transitional, when many distortions and unethical behaviors take place. Empirical findings indicate a relatively successful implementation of the Target Model in Greece, with price disorders mostly met in the Balancing Market.

Prosumer Community Portfolio Optimization via Aggregator: The Case of the Iberian Electricity Market and Portuguese Retail Market

The participation of household prosumers in wholesale electricity markets is very limited, considering the minimum participation limit imposed by most market participation rules. The generation capacity of households has been increasing since the installation of distributed generation from renewable sources in their facilities brings advantages for themselves and the system. Due to the growth of self-consumption, network operators have been putting aside the purchase of electricity from households, and there has been a reduction in the price of these transactions. This paper proposes an innovative model that uses the aggregation of households to reach the minimum limits of electricity volume needed to participate in the wholesale market. In this way, the Aggregator represents the community of households in market sales and purchases. An electricity transactions portfolio optimization model is proposed to enable the Aggregator reaching the decisions on which markets to participate to maximize the market negotiation outcomes, considering the day-ahead market, intra-day market, and retail market. A case study is presented, considering the Iberian wholesale electricity market and the Portuguese retail market. A community of 50 prosumers equipped with photovoltaic generators and individual storage systems is used to carry out the experiments. A cost reduction of 6–11% is achieved when the community of households buys and sells electricity in the wholesale market through the Aggregator.