Browsing by Subject "Market Power"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Analysis of Optimal Dispatch of Energy Systems, Market Rules, and Market Power in Wholesale Electricity Markets
    (2021-08) Paine, Nathan
    The focus of this dissertation is on the operation of electric power systems, specifically on wholesale electricity markets and the potential for exercising market power in wholesale markets for electricity. Restructuring of the electric utility industry has encouraged Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to enter the industry and sell power in the wholesale electricity markets. However, as the United States continues the transition to restructured electricity markets, there are concerns about the market power that producers may exert. This dissertation is composed of three essays exploring these topics using dynamic optimization methods and empirical analysis. The first essay uses a framework to measure production costs and the component of price that is above marginal cost. I incorporate the start-up costs of generators. Using data from January 2016 to December 2018, I find evidence that market power was exercised, particularly in months having unseasonably cold temperatures and fuel price spikes as well as during the winter peak season. The results also suggest that the degree of market power increases during the peak hours of the day. The second essay utilizes a dynamic optimization model to illustrate how a low-temperature geothermal power plant can be flexibly dispatched to offer multiple different services in addition to base-load power to a utility customer. The utility industry still thinks of geothermal as a base-load resource, but I show that low temperature resource geothermal power plants offer more flexibility than other renewable energy technologies and thus can be operated as a variable energy resource to accommodate intermittent resources and alleviate transmission congestion. The third essay examines the interaction of policies, markets, and technologies that creates the modern electrical system. Integrating large amounts of electricity generated by variable renewable resources, such as from wind and solar, into electricity systems may require energy storage technologies to synchronize electricity production with electricity demand. Electricity markets compensate the performance of these energy storage technologies for the services they provide, and these markets are often operated by regional Independent System Operators (ISOs) that specify the market rules for this compensation. To examine how different ISO rules can affect the operation and profitability an energy storage technology, I develop a dynamic programming model of pumped hydroelectric storage (PHES) facility operation under the market rules from the Midcontinent ISO and ISO-New England. I show how differences in rules between these ISOs produce different operational strategies and profits and may not incentivize energy storage projects where they are most needed.
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    Consolidation, Competition, and Antitrust Law: A Changing Landscape for Minnesota Farmers
    (2024-05-01) Keliher, Matthew
    Much of the research on farming and agricultural market concentration focuses on the importance of quantitative elements such as price, access to markets or capital, or concentration ratios. And while these quantitative measurements are critical for understanding the impact consolidation has on consumers and producers within the broader agricultural industry, it only represents one aspect. This qualitative study aims to capture the perspectives of Minnesota farmers to explore how consolidated agriculture markets impact farmers’ communities and livelihoods. Comparing their perspectives with the current literature regarding market concentration in agriculture and food distribution, this study aims to illuminate the views of independent farmers that are subject to the control of dominant firms that abuse their market power. Semi-structured interviews with Minnesota farmers highlight key elements of the reviewed literature and demonstrate connections between challenges faced by farmers with economic indicators such high costs of farming inputs, the limitations of quality rural healthcare, and the burden placed on farming communities through restrictions on repairing agricultural equipment. A key theme throughout the interviews revealed that many farmers view consolidated industries as systems of control. Control over how they can farm, how they can care for and feed their livestock, how they can repair their machinery, where they can sell their produce and for how much. These systems of control are often hailed as “efficiencies” by consolidated corporate power. But for farmers, these systems of control represent an end to two things farmers and all citizens value most: creativity and liberty.
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    Essays in Macroeconomics
    (2024-05) Perez Perez, Luis
    Over the course of the past five decades, several puzzling macroeconomic trends have caught the eye of economists and policymakers alike. The rise of market power, the decline of the labor share, and the decline of productivity growth are simply some prominent examples. Given their importance, much has been written and discussed about these topics, yet little is still known about their underlying causes. In addition to these phenomena, in recent years economists have turned their attention to the Covid-19 pandemic, grappling with understanding its economic ramifications and with formulating optimal policy interventions. My doctoral dissertation, titled "Essays in Macroeconomics," consists of four distinct yet interconnected chapters. These chapters delve into the topics outlined above, with Economic Growth and Public Finance serving as unifying themes. The first two chapters fall within the scope of Economic Growth, while the last two center on Public Finance. Methodologically, each chapter combines economic theory with empirical or quantitative analysis, if not both, to shed light on important macroeconomic questions.