Electricity market trading

A revolution is occurring in the way electricity is bought and sold. The principles of competitive market economics are being applied to electricity trading like any other market commodity, such as stocks and shares, oil, currency or gold bars. Harnessing the technical achievements of electrical power engineers and information and communication technologies will progressively allow market trading and power exchanges to become the dominant means for buying and selling wholesale electricity worldwide. This paper discusses the evaluation of electricity market trading in England and Wales, NETA (new electricity trading arrangements), system operator, power exchanges and contracts, and electricity trading in Nordic countries and California. In particular, the problems occurring in the Californian market are discussed.