Pricing Structures in the Deregulated UK Electricity Market

As residential energy markets open to competition, consumers can choose from a range of tariffs offered by different suppliers. We examine the relationship between the fixed charge levied on each consumer, and the variable charge per unit of energy used across all these tariffs. Data are the tariffs offered in April 2002 in the 14 electricity regions of Great Britain by seventeen suppliers, seven of whom operate nationally. Our analysis focuses on the revenue trade-off for the company. We identify the effect of payment method on the relationship between fixed and variable charge. We find significant effects of the distribution and transmission charges which the suppliers pay in each area, as well as the size of the market both by number of customers and area; and confirm that incumbents charge significantly more that entrants. We also find significant differences between the prepayment and credit tariffs

A note on the modelling of hyper-inflations

In time series macroeconometric models, the first difference in the logarithm of a variable is routinely used to represent the rate of change of that variable. It is often overlooked that the assumed approximation is accurate only if the rates of change are small. Models of hyper-inflation are a case in point, since in these models, by definition, changes in price are large. In this letter, Cagan’s model is applied to Hungarian hyper-inflation data. It is then demonstrated that use of the approximation in the formation of the price inflation variable is causing an upward bias in the model’s key parameter, and therefore an exaggeration of the effect postulated by Cagan

Decentralized Energy Supply and Electricity Market Structures

Small decentralized power generation units (DG) are politically promoted because of their potential to reduce GHG-emissions and the existing dependency on fossil fuels. A long term goal of this promotion should be the creation of a level playing field for DG and conventional power generation. Due to the impact of DG on the electricity grid infrastructure, future regulation should consider the costs and benefits of the integration of decentralized energy generation units. Without an adequate consideration, the overall costs of the electricity generation system will be unnecessarily high. The present paper analyses, based on detailed modelling of decentralized demand and supply as well as of the overall system, the marginal costs or savings resulting from decentralized production. Thereby particular focus is laid on taking adequately into account the stochasticity both of energy demand and energy supply. An efficient grid pricing system should then remunerate long-term grid cost savings to operators of decentralized energy production or/and charge long-term additional grid costs to these operators. With detailed models of decentralized demand and supply as well as the overall system, the marginal costs or savings resulting from decentralized production are determined and their dependency on characteristics of the grid and of the decentralized supply are discussed

Inaccurate approximation in the modelling of hyper-inflations

In time series macroeconometric models, the first difference in the logarithm of a variable is routinely used to represent the rate of change of that variable. It is often overlooked that the assumed approximation is accurate only if the rates of change are small. Models of hyper-inflation are a case in point, since in these models, by definition, changes in price are large. In this letter, Cagan's model is applied to Hungarian hyper-inflation data. It is then demonstrated that use of the approximation in the formation of the price inflation variable is causing an upward bias in the model's key parameter, and therefore an exaggeration of the effect postulated by Cagan