[en] As a result of European Directives 96/92 and 2003/54 on the liberalisation of the internal market for electricity, the Italian electricity sector has been subject to extensive institutional changes which have affected the competitive nature of the market. In this paper we attempt to assess the likely effect of these institutional changes on the Italian electricity industry, and focus particularly on the impact of the introduction of a centralised wholesale market. The assessment of the likely impact of these institutional changes is based on the comparison with the international experience of countries where extensive liberalisation measures have been implemented (such as the US, UK and the Scandinavian region). On the basis of this international comparison, we draw some lessons about how to promote effective competition in the Italian market and in other electricity markets which have not been fully liberalised. (Author)

[en] The increase in price for propane was discussed. In 1993, propane cost about 5 cents per litre; by December 1996, the price has risen to 27 cents wholesale, while retail prices for auto propane reached 40 cents per litre. As a result, farmers and fleet operators are considering switching to an alternative energy supply. The five factors which may have played a role in the propane price spike were described. These included a cold winter which lowered inventories, a Pemex gas plant in Mexico which had been damaged by fire, forcing Mexico to import natural gas and natural gas liquids from the USA, the failure of propane distributors to restock during the summer months in the hope of lower prices, and increased cost of competing fuels in the face of increased demand. It was noted that these factors are transitory, which could mean better prices this summer

[en] It examines the feasibility of using coal from the Delbi-Moya reserve for domestic or institutional cooking, industrial process heating and electricity generation. It indicates as coal can be mined from the Delbi reserve at a cost of EB110/tonne, can be processed for EB400/tonne and transported to Addis Ababa for 150/tonne. The wholesale price of coal briquettes in Addis Ababa would be EB750/tonne. Domestic users can save EB475 per year by switching from charcoal to coal briquettes. And for a 50MW plant annual saving would be of the order of EB30 million per year. 11 tab. 4 figs. 6 appendex

[en] There is little consensus on whether higher retail gasoline prices in Canada are the result of international crude oil price fluctuations or local market power exercised by large vertically-integrated firms. I find that although both increasing local market concentration and higher average monthly wholesale prices are positively and significantly associated with higher retail prices, wholesale prices are more important than local market concentration. Similarly, crude oil prices are more important than the number of local wholesalers in determining wholesale prices. These results suggest that movements in gasoline prices are largely the result of input price fluctuations rather than local market structure. (author)

[en] The Electric Energy Marketing (EEM) Program was created by the Alberta government in 1982 in order to establish fair and equal wholesale electricity rates for Albertans by averaging utility generation and transmission costs. Secondary objectives of the EEM Program included efficient power generation, reductions in the rate of increase in electric energy costs, provision for electric energy imports, minimal interference in utility operations, and encouragement of a more balanced economic growth within Alberta. A review is presented of the extent to which the EEM Program has fulfilled these objectives. The program covers electricity generated by Alberta's three major utilities: Alberta Power, Edmonton Power, and Trans Alta. These utilities' costs are currently ca 75%, 80%, and 120% respectively of what they would be without EEM transfers. Total government payments, rebates, and direct EEM agency costs to date are ca $2 billion. Wholesale unit costs in 1991 across the three utilities were exactly equal in the residential sector; in the general service and large industrial sectors, rates varied according to differences in load factors. The impact of the EEM Program as seen in the wholesale costs is reflected in the retail price of electricity, subject to variations due to factors including timing of rate changes, differences in municipal taxes and profits, investment policies, rate design, and customer load characteristics. 5 figs., 18 tabs

[en] This paper shows that a stochastic regime-switching model can represent the volatile behavior of wholesale electricity prices associated with price spikes effectively. The structure of the model is very flexible because the mean prices in the two regimes and the two transition probabilities are functions of the load and/or the implicit reserve margin. Using price data from the single settlement market in PJM (May 1999 to May 2000), the results show that the estimated switching probability from the low to the high regime predicts price spikes well if the reserve margin is measured accurately. (Author)

[en] Crude oil prices fell dramatically during the fourth quarter of 1992. Refiners are reevaluating their positions to adjust to low demand growth worldwide. The only bright spot appears to be the United States' emergence from its economic recession. However, Japan and Germany are experiencing their own economic recessions, and crude oil supplies show no sign of tightening. Crude oil futures prices have fallen by more than 15% as of January 8, 1993 compared to October 1, 1992. Although the American Petroleum Institute (API) found increases in oil demand during October and November 1992, the increases are attributed to colder weather and the weak 1991 demand that was used for comparison. This issue identifies current factors at work affecting U.S. refining margins and product values, and offers a first quarter 1993 outlook. All data featured in graphs and text come from the Energy detente Refinery Netback Data Series published in each issue, in which gasoline and diesel No. 2 are Lundberg Survey unbranded racks instead of spot quotations. Margins are apparent deltas only and do not reflect actual profits for any individual operation

[en] National transpositions of the European directive on domestic electricity markets have maintained a degree of diversity; and this also characterizes the other conditions for accessing national electricity markets (physical, commercial, industrial and capital access). As a look at the prices of electricity shows, these national markets do not operate in a single way Europe-wide. Furthermore, electricity companies - key actors in this competition - differ widely from each other in size, electrical potential, investment portfolios and strategies for growth. (authors)

[en] The aggregate response of consumers to wholesale price signals is very limited in the restructured Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market. An overall average own-price elasticity of demand of - 0.000008 for industrial energy consumers served at transmission voltage is estimated using a Symmetric Generalized McFadden cost function model. To date, ERCOT has sought to promote demand response to price signals without reliance on 'stand alone' demand response programs, but with a market structure that is designed to facilitate economic demand response. This very limited responsiveness to wholesale price signals may prove problematic in light of policy decisions to pursue an 'energy only' resource adequacy mechanism for ERCOT. (author)

[en] Consider a market where producers submit supply functions to a procurement auction with uncertain demand, e.g. an electricity auction. In the Supply Function Equilibrium (SFE), every firm commits to the supply function that maximises expected profit in the one-shot game given the supply functions of competitors. A basic weakness of the SFE is the presence of multiple equilibria. This paper shows that with (i) symmetric producers, (ii) perfectly inelastic demand, (iii) a price cap, and (iv) capacity constraints that bind with a positive probability, there exists a unique, symmetric SFE. (author)