An Analysis of Colombian Power Market Price Behavior from an Industrial Organization Perspective

摘要

We analyze the behavior of spot prices in the Colombian wholesale power market, using a series of models derived from industrial organization theory. We first create a Cournot-based model that simulates the strategic behavior of the market-leader power generators, which we use to estimate two industrial organization variables, the Index of Residual Demand and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). We use these variables to create VAR models that estimate spot prices and power market impulse-response relationships. The results from these models show that hydroelectric generators can use their water storage capability strategically to affect off-peak prices primarily, while the thermal generators can manage their capacity strategically to affect on-peak prices. In addition, shocks to the Index of Residual Capacity and to the HHI cause spot price fluctuations, which can be interpreted as the generators strategic response to these shocks.