Operating a swing option on today's gas markets : how least squares Monte Carlo works and why it is beneficial

We investigate, if it pays off for a company to invest into complex swing option algorithms. We first introduce least squares Monte Carlo as a complex valuation algorithm and explain in detail how it works. Using a simulation study and two backtest scenarios we compare the output of this method with a simple myopic approach, and evaluate the results also from a business point of view. We find that myopic operation performs fairly well, but given a certain contract size and a certain contract flexibility, LSMC clearly prevails.