In announcing investigations of Avista, based in Spokane, Wash.; El Paso Electric in Texas; and several Enron subsidiaries, including Portland General Electric in Oregon, the commission said regulators could eventually revoke the traders' ability to sell power at market rates and force them to disgorge certain profits.
This paper shows that, when trader preferences are interdependent, trader market power does not necessarily decrease with greater participation, and traders need not become price takers in large markets.
And this wasn't a debatable issue –we actually had the tapes of Enron traders telling power plants to shut down to drive up prices.
The simultaneous decision-making gives traders market power over selling households rendering them vulnerable to exploitation by traders (Bellemare and Barrett 2006).
According to Bellemare and Barrett (2006), the simultaneous decision-making gives traders market power over selling households rendering them vulnerable to exploitation by traders.
In the high pressure environment of Wall Street, stock traders hold power over millions of dollars of their employer's money, and split-second decisions can make or break careers.
NRG Energy Inc., an energy trader and power generator, canceled its purchase of Conectiv power plants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for about $200 million, citing increased operating expenses.
At a time when shares of energy traders and power-plant owners can hardly be given away on Wall Street, National Grid's stock, at a recent $11.28, is off 31% from its high in September 2000.
A range of industry experts played down predictions by the large power-trading companies that the reduction in the number of traders would hurt power markets and push prices higher.
"Thus, traders could buy power at $250 and sell it for $1,200," according to one memo.
