Retail Electricity Market Trends and Strategic Focus Report by Transparency Market Research

Albany, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/08/2015 -- In economic terms, electricity (both power and energy) is a commodity capable of being bought, sold and traded. An electricity market is a system for conducting sales, purchases, and short-term trades. Bids and offers use supply and demand principles to set the price. Short-term trades are contracts similar to power purchase agreements and are generally considered private bi-lateral transactions between counterparties. Retail transactions (bids and offers) in electricity are typically cleared and settled by the market operator or a special-purpose independent entity charged exclusively with that function. Market operators do not clear trades but often require knowledge of the trade in order to maintain generation and load balance. The commodities within an electric market generally consist of two types: power and energy. Power is the metered net electrical transfer rate at any given moment and is measured in megawatts (MW). Energy is electricity that flows through a metered point for a given period and is measured in megawatt hours (MWh).