Power exchange simulation as an interactive educational tool

The extensive use of electric power exchanges is one of the most important recent trends of the electric energy sector. These markets can manage significant amount of the energy trade, thus they are an important factor in the performance of the industry. The implementation is possible in several ways, and to select the best one is usually not trivial, that is why this topic is the object of diverse research projects at the moment. A sovereign problem is the education of the topic, because its interdisciplinary nature makes it challenging to integrate into traditional schemes. The current objective is to apply an already functioning market clearing software to interactive educational presentation. Students will deal with a simplified energy market; they will play the roles of identical power plants competing for profit. The game is set up to provide an atmosphere in which the spirit of competition is a major motivating force.