The main purpose of this survey paper is to consider the attempts that have been made to apply economic theory and empirical methods to the analysis of electricity markets, and to evaluate them in light of theoretical considerations and empirical evidence. We describe the key features of the...

I revisit the dominant-firm model and discuss its implicit assumption of a sequential move structure. I argue that a simultaneous move structure is often more reasonable and derive an alternative formulation of the model based on this approach. -- dominant firm ; monopoly with fringe ;...

The European Commission is introducing new regulations on submission and publication of data in electricity markets (SPDEM) and on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (REMIT). I discuss issues relevant for undertaking an evaluation such regulations. I argue that, for market...

We explore the efficacy of price and quantity controls in a dynamic set up in which the decisions of some agents are irreversible. We demonstrate that the assumption of irreversibility improves the performance of a tax relative that of a system of tradable quotas and significantly alters the...

This report was produced as part of the THINK project. In order to accelerate the infrastructure investments that are important for the achievement of the EU energy policy objectives, the European Commission has proposed an Energy Infrastructure package. The package includes a new Regulation on...

A government wants to exploit a renewable resource, yielding a timevarying flow of rent, by leasing it at a fixed rate. Leasing contracts can be expropriated before expiration, albeit at a cost. To minimise transactions costs and avoid the 'resource curse' the government would prefer to enter...