Agent-based Simulation of the German and French Wholesale Electricity Markets - Recent Extensions of the PowerACE Model with Exemplary Applications

Given electricity markets’ complexity, model-based analysis has proven to be a valuable tool for decision makers in related industries or politics. Among the different modelling techniques for electricity markets, agent-based modelling offers specific advantages. In this paper, the detailed agent-based simulation model for the wholesale electricity market, PowerACE, is presented with its latest extensions. The model integrates the short-term perspective of daily electricity trading and long-term capacity expansion planning. Various market elements are simulated including the day-ahead market as well as the coupling of different market areas with limited interconnection capacities. Strategic behaviour of the main supply-side agents is taken into account. The model has already been applied to various research questions regarding the development of electricity markets and the behaviour of market participants. In this contribution, exemplary results for the market coupling of the German and French wholesale electricity market are shown. In the future, due to the current developments in the electricity markets, the PowerACE modelling framework is to be extended by various aspects including the simulation of an intraday market and the integration of different aspects of uncertainty which becomes necessary given current developments in the electricity markets.