Good volatility, bad volatility: What drives the asymmetric connectedness of Australian electricity markets?

- We document asymmetric transmission mechanisms at Australian electricity markets.
- Asymmetries emerge due to bad and good volatility.
- Asymmetries in volatility connectedness change over time.
- Negative spillovers do not strictly dominate positive spillovers.

Efficient delivery of network services and the electricity infrastructure to meet the long-term consumer's interests are the main objectives and the strategies of a national electricity market, while the main interests of generators are to maximize their profit through pricing strategies. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore whether electricity prices across the four Australian States display symmetric price volatility connectedness. The study is the first attempt in the literature to make use of intraday 5-min Australian dispatch electricity prices, spanning the period December 8th, 1998 to May 5th, 2016 to quantify asymmetries in volatility connectedness emerging from good, and bad volatility. The results provide supportive evidence that the Australian electricity markets are connected asymmetrically implying the presence of some degree of market power that is exercised by generators across regional electricity markets.