Rethinking restructured electricity market design: Lessons learned and future needs

Given these marked changes in the architecture of electric power systems, we are at a unique point at which the tenets of restructured electricity market design can be re-evaluated. While this re-examination is largely driven by changes in power system designs, we can also rely on lessons learned from the past three decades of market-restructuring experience. In this paper, we highlight some of the challenges in designing electricity markets brought about by changes in system designs. We also discuss a number of lessons learned from market designs that have been implemented. We then suggest some important principles that should underlie future reforms of electricity market designs and raise design questions that require further research and examination.