A survey of commodity markets and structural models for electricity prices

Abstract

The goal of this survey is to review the major idiosyncrasies of the commodity markets and the methods which have been proposed to handle them in spot and forward price models. We devote special attention to the most idiosyncratic of all: electricity markets. Following a discussion of traded instruments, market features, historical perspectives, recent developments and various modelling approaches, we focus on the important role of other energy prices and fundamental factors in setting the power price. In doing so, we present a detailed analysis of the structural approach for electricity, arguing for its merits over traditional reduced-form models. Building on several recent articles, we advocate a broad and flexible structural framework for spot prices, incorporating demand, capacity and fuel prices in several ways, while calculating closed-form forward prices throughout.