Power-Economics Regulation Research Group
Área de Regulación y Economía de la Energía (RYE)

Research topics

The activities of the Power-Economics Regulation research unit are centred on the design and analysis of the regulative measures which make possible the incorporation of strategic, economic and environmental considerations into the management of the energy sector in order that they may guide the technical and financial decisions of buyers and sellers in the energy market with the final objective of maximising net social benefit. The unit is particularly active in the Electricity Sector.

We offer an important range of activities, making a significant research contribution both nationally and internationally:

- Externally financed research and development projects which include six European projects, three national CENIT projects, and a number of projects commissioned by private institutions and companies.

- A contribution to the scientific knowledge base in the form of PhDs, articles in the most important journals in this field and participation in international conferences.

- An important teaching role, in particular our committed participation in the PhD and Postgraduate programme in Electrical Engineering in the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (ICAI) - including the Master’s Degree in the Electricity Sector which is supported by the European Commission through the ERASMUS MUNDUS programme - and a close collaboration with the training courses for European regulators which are organised by the Florence School of Regulation and are supported by the European Union. Amongst other activities, in a European context, the unit also participates in technological training in the electricity sector through the Asociación Universidad/Empresa para la Formación en Sistemas de Energía Eléctrica (AUEF-SEE), which has held a number of international courses.

- Advisory and consultancy work commissioned by regulating institutions, operators/traders and by private companies in a wide range of countries (Spain, Holland, Italy, France, Russia, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama and so on).

Contact

Documentation

Leaflets about this area.

Relevant research projects

Regulatory design of energy markets

Coordinating energy security of supply actions. Developed for: Comisión Europea. Jan/2007-Dec/2008.

Economic and regulatory analysis for an active demand management. Developed for: Consorcio GAD. Jan/2007-Dec/2010.

Security of supply in the Dutch electricity market: the role of reliability options. Developed for: Dienst uitvoering en toezicht Energie (DTe) (Comisión Reguladora Holandesa). Sep/2003-Jan/2004.

Study of opportunities on the evolutions of the French balancing mechanism. Developed for: La SNET (Société Nationale d’Électricité et de Thermique). Jul/2006-Oct/2006.

Capacity payment mechanism for the Russian power market: Reliability options with a single strike price. Developed for: Mercados Energéticos. Mar/2005-Apr/2005.

Economic instruments for environmental and climate change policy

Renewable electricity supply interactions with conventional power generation, networks and demand. Developed for: Comisión Europea. Jan/2007-Jul/2009.

SOLID-DER: Coordinated action to consolidate RTD activities for large scale integration of DER into the European electricity market. Developed for: Comisión Europea. Nov/2005-Mar/2008.

Design and assessment of climate change policies in Spain; Kyoto and afterwards. Developed for: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia. Oct/2006-Sep/2009.

Economic and distributive effects in Spain of alternative allocations of carbon-dioxide emission tradeable permits. Developed for: Fundación BBVA. Oct/2005-Sep/2007.

Energy demand, public policies and adaptation. Developed for: Xunta de Galicia. Nov/2008-Oct/2011.

Favouring the convergence of the renewable energy support after the Directive 01/77/EC. Developed for: Comisión Europea. May/2003-Mar/2005.

Scenario analysis for the Spanish electricity sector for 2010 and 2020. Developed for: WWF/Adena. Jun/2005-Sep/2005 .

Transmission and distribution networks regulation

Energy infrastructure cost and investments between 1996 and 2023 on the Trans-European Energy Network. Developed for: Comisión Europea (DG TREN). Jan/2005-Oct/2005 .

The development of a network reference model for the Spanish Electric Power System. Developed for: Unesa, ASEME, CIDE y APYDE. Jun/2004-Dec/2005.

Analysis of several methods for the computation of inter-TSO payments associated with the external use of the grid of each country. Developed for: REE (Red Eléctrica de España). Jul/2008-Dec/2008.

Regulatory mechanisms for efficient siting of electricity generarors in the Spanish transmission network. Developed for: Comisión Nacional de la Energía. Jun/2006-Jun/2007.

Analysis of the Chilean Network 2008 for the CNE, using the IIT Network Reference Model. Developed for: SYNEX Ingenieros Consultores Ltda. Jun/2008-Oct/2008.

Analysis of the regulatory framework to determine the allowed revenue for distribution companies in Peru. Developed for: OSINERGMIN. Oct/2008-Sep/2009.

The regulation of the transmission of electricity. Developed for: Iberdrola. Jun/2008-Jul/2008.

Relevant publications

Energy markets design and regulation

I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, P. Linares, "Markets vs. Regulation: A role for indicative energy planning", Energy Journal. vol. 29, no. 2 (special, pp. 149-164, October 2008.

P. Frías, T. Gómez, D. Soler, "A reactive power capacity market using annual auctions", IEEE Transactions on Power Systems. vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 1458-1468, August 2008.

C. Batlle, C. Vázquez, M. Rivier, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, "Enhancing power supply adequacy in Spain: Migrating from capacity payments to reliability options", Energy Policy. vol. 35, no. 9, pp. 4545-4554, September 2007.

C. Batlle, C. Vázquez, J. Barquín, "The balancing market maker: A tool to enhance liquidity in the French balancing mechanism", The Electricity Journal. vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 76-86, July 2007.

C. Vázquez, M. Rivier, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, "A market approach to long-term security of supply", IEEE Transactions on Power Systems. vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 349-357, May 2002.

C. Vázquez, M. Rivier, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, "Production cost minimization versus consumer payment minimisation in electricity pools", IEEE Transactions on Power Systems. vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 119-127, February 2002.

Analysis of sustainable energy policies

P. Linares, F.J. Santos, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, "Scenarios for the evolution of the Spanish electricity sector: Is it on the right path towards sustainability?", Energy Policy. vol. 36, no. 11, pp. 4057-4068, November 2008.

P. Linares, M. Pérez-Plaza, "Strategic decisions for green electricity marketing in Spain: learning from past experiences", en Web-based green products life cycle management systems: Reverse supply chain utilization. Editores Wang, Hsiao-Fan. Ed. IGI Publishing. Hershey, USA, 2008.

P. Linares, F.J. Santos, M. Ventosa, "Coordination of carbon reduction and renewable energy support policies", Climate Policy. vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 377-394, August 2008.

P. Linares, C. Romero, "Economía y medio ambiente: Herramientas de valoración ambiental", en Tratado de tributación medioambiental. Ed. Thomson-Aranzadi. Navarra, Spain, 2008.

I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, P. Linares, C. Batlle, J. Barquín, "The major elements for a global climate strategy beyond 2012", IAEE Newsletter. no. Fall, pp. 21-25, October 2007.

P. Linares, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, F.J. Santos, C. Ocaña, Influencia de las políticas medioambientales en los mercados eléctricos europeos. Ed. Fundación BBVA. Bilbao, Spain, 2007.

Regulation of energy network infrastructures

M. Rodríguez, I.J. Pérez-Arriaga, J. Rivier, J. Peco, "Distribution network tariffs: A closed question?", Energy Policy. vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 1712-1725, May 2008.