Agent-Based Simulation of Retail Electricity Markets: Bilateral Trading Players

The electricity industry throughout the world, which has long been dominated by vertically integrated utilities, has experienced major changes. Deregulation, unbundling, wholesale and retail wheeling, and real-time pricing were abstract concepts a few years ago. Today market forces drive the price of electricity and reduce the net cost through increased competition. As power markets continue to evolve, there is a growing need for advanced modeling approaches. Accordingly, this article looks at using software agents to help manage the complexity of electricity markets, particularly retail markets. The article focuses on bilateral trading and describes some important features of an agent-based system for bilateral contracting. Special attention is devoted to the characteristics and negotiation behaviour of Buyer and Seller agents.