A Comparison of Bilateral Trading and the Uniform Clearing Price Reverse Auction: Lessons from Illinois’ Electricity Procurement Processes

An examination of measures of market power, wholesale rates, and retail prices provides evidence that one procurement method is not necessarily more competitive than the other. The design of the procurement process, economic conditions, and other electricity policies such as rate caps, retail switching and financial swaps can contribute to the competitiveness in the wholesale market as well as retail prices.