Comment on Why are energy bills going up, if there is more green power? - BBC News
poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 weeks agoThat is a naive way of looking at how the electricity market currently functions and is regulated.
Due to how the pricing is regulated in the market there is a perverse incentive for electricity producers to keep expensive gas plants running to increase profits from their renewable sources, as they can ask the highest production price for all the electricity produced regardless of the actual source.
This regulation was originally intended to increase profits of producers with a small base of renewables and incentivize them into investing in more renewables and I guess you can say that worked in the early 2000. But now that we have a substantial install base of renewables, it highly disincentivizes producers to retire their remaining expensive gas plants and invest in better transmission and energy storage.
iii@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
You’re probably talking about the day-ahead market (1). Only a small portion of electricity is traded on that market. It’s a marginal factor.
Most is traded OTC, longer term.
I’ve worked as energy trader.
It is a fundamental problem of technology. Here in Belgium the government started subsidising gas plants, passing the costs on to end-consumers, as they’re necessary for balancing the grid, but unprofitable to run. (1)
poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
iii@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
You’re incorrect in both your understanding of energy markets, and my paychecks.
Again, you’re basing this on the day-ahead market. A marginal market in terms of traded power volume.