In Germany and beyond, various capacity mechanisms are currently being discussed with a view to improving the security of electricity supply. One of these mechanisms is a strategic reserve that retains generation capacity for use in times of critical supply shortage. We argue that strategic...

German companies view high and uncertain electricity prices a major challenge. A Renewable Energy Pool (RE-Pool), wherein the favorable conditions of competitive tenders for new wind and solar power projects are passed on to electricity consumers, could hedge such price risks. Consumers'...

We first discuss different rules for pricing and provision of balancing across EU member states and their implications. Some member states face significant transmission constraints inside their pricing zone(s). In principle, this can be avoided with smaller pricing zones and in some instances...