IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/diw/diwwpp/dp1685.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Abuse of Dominance and Antitrust Enforcement in the German Electricity Market

Author

Listed:
  • Tomaso Duso
  • Florian Szücs
  • Veit Böckers

Abstract

In 2008, the European Commission investigated E.ON, a large and vertically integrated electricity company, for the alleged abuse of a joint dominant position by strategically withholding generation capacity. The case was settled after E.ON agreed to divest 5,000 MW generation capacity as well as its extra-high voltage network. We analyze the effect of these divestitures on German wholesale electricity prices. Our identification strategy is based on the observation that energy suppliers have more market power during peak periods when demand is high. Therefore, a decrease in market power should lead to convergence between peak and off-peak prices. Using daily electricity prices for the 2006 - 2012 period and controlling for cost and demand drivers, we find economically and statistically significant convergence effects after the implementation of the Commission’s decision. Furthermore, the price reductions appear to be mostly due to the divestiture of gas and coal plants, which is consistent with merit-order considerations. Placebo regressions support a causal interpretation of our results.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomaso Duso & Florian Szücs & Veit Böckers, 2017. "Abuse of Dominance and Antitrust Enforcement in the German Electricity Market," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1685, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.564994.de/dp1685.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Borenstein, Severin & Bushnell, James & Wolak, Frank, 2002. "Measuring Market Inefficiencies in California's Deregulated Electricity Industry," Staff General Research Papers Archive 13136, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    2. Pollitt, Michael, 2008. "The arguments for and against ownership unbundling of energy transmission networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 704-713, February.
    3. Paul L. Joskow & Edward Kohn, 2002. "A Quantitative Analysis of Pricing Behavior in California's Wholesale Electricity Market During Summer 2000," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4), pages 1-35.
    4. Stephen W. Davies & Peter L. Ormosi, 2012. "A Comparative Assessment Of Methodologies Used To Evaluate Competition Policy," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(4), pages 769-803.
    5. John Kwoka & Vladlena Sabodash, 2011. "Price Spikes in Energy Markets: “Business by Usual Methods” or Strategic Withholding?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 38(3), pages 285-310, May.
    6. Zachmann, Georg & von Hirschhausen, Christian, 2008. "First evidence of asymmetric cost pass-through of EU emissions allowances: Examining wholesale electricity prices in Germany," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 99(3), pages 465-469, June.
    7. Sebastian Just & Christoph Weber, 2012. "Strategic Behavior in the German Balancing Energy Mechanism: Incentives, Evidence, Costs and Solutions," EWL Working Papers 1204, University of Duisburg-Essen, Chair for Management Science and Energy Economics, revised Oct 2012.
    8. Malgorzata Sadowska, 2011. "Energy Liberalization in Antitrust Straitjacket: A Plant Too Far?," RSCAS Working Papers 2011/34, European University Institute.
    9. Sebastian Just & Christoph Weber, 2015. "Strategic behavior in the German balancing energy mechanism: incentives, evidence, costs and solutions," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 218-243, October.
    10. Luca Aguzzoni & Elena Argentesi & Lorenzo Ciari & Tomaso Duso & Massimo Tognoni, 2016. "Ex post Merger Evaluation in the U.K. Retail Market for Books," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(1), pages 170-200, March.
    11. Orley Ashenfelter & Daniel Hosken, 2010. "The Effect of Mergers on Consumer Prices: Evidence from Five Mergers on the Enforcement Margin," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(3), pages 417-466.
    12. Nardi, Paolo, 2012. "Transmission network unbundling and grid investments: Evidence from the UCTE countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 50-58.
    13. Growitsch, Christian & Stronzik, Marcus, 2011. "Ownership Unbundling of Gas Transmission Networks - Empirical Evidence," EWI Working Papers 2011-7, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI).
    14. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2003. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 113-132, March.
    15. Orley C. Ashenfelter & Daniel S. Hosken & Matthew C. Weinberg, 2014. "Corrigendum: The Price Effects of a Large Merger of Manufacturers: A Case Study of Maytag Whirlpool," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 308-309, February.
    16. Orley Ashenfelter & Daniel Hosken & Matthew Weinberg, 2014. "Did Robert Bork Understate the Competitive Impact of Mergers? Evidence from Consummated Mergers," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(S3), pages 67-100.
    17. Severin Borenstein & James B. Bushnell & Frank A. Wolak, 2002. "Measuring Market Inefficiencies in California's Restructured Wholesale Electricity Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1376-1405, December.
    18. Justus Haucap, Ulrich Heimeshoff, and Dragan Jovanovic, 2014. "Competition in Germany's Minute Reserve Power Market: An Econometric Analysis," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2).
    19. Böckers, Veit & Heimeshoff, Ulrich, 2014. "The extent of European power markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 102-111.
    20. Pardo, Angel & Meneu, Vicente & Valor, Enric, 2002. "Temperature and seasonality influences on Spanish electricity load," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 55-70, January.
    21. Bergler, Julian & Heim, Sven & Hüschelrath, Kai, 2017. "Strategic capacity withholding through failures in the German-Austrian electricity market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 210-221.
    22. Steven L. Puller, 2007. "Pricing and Firm Conduct in California's Deregulated Electricity Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 89(1), pages 75-87, February.
    23. Paul Joskow & Edward Kahn, 2002. "A quantitative analysis of pricing behaviour in California's wholesale electricity market during summer 2000: the final word," Working Papers EP02, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    24. Duso, Tomaso & Szücs, Florian, 2017. "Market power and heterogeneous pass-through in German electricity retail," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 354-372.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jan Niklas Buescher & Daria Gottwald & Florian Momm & Alexander Zureck, 2022. "Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis on the Efficiency of European Intraday Electricity Markets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-21, May.
    2. Sirin, Selahattin Murat & Uz, Dilek & Sevindik, Irem, 2022. "How do variable renewable energy technologies affect firm-level day-ahead output decisions: Evidence from the Turkish wholesale electricity market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    3. Duso, Tomaso & Seldeslachts, Jo & Szucs, Florian, 2019. "The Impact of Competition Policy Enforcement on the Functioning of EU Energy Markets," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 40(01), pages 97-120.
    4. Liu, Chen & Shao, Zhen & Jiao, Jianling & Yang, Shanlin, 2024. "How connected is withholding capacity to electricity, fossil fuel and carbon markets? Perspectives from a high renewable energy consumption economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    5. M. Ángeles López‐Cabarcos & Helena Santos‐Rodrigues & Lara Quiñoá‐Piñeiro & Juan Piñeiro‐Chousa, 2023. "How to explain stock returns of utility companies from an environmental, social and corporate governance perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2278-2291, September.
    6. Sugimoto, Kota, 2021. "Ownership versus legal unbundling of electricity transmission network: Evidence from renewable energy investment in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. David P. Brown & Derek E. H. Olmstead, 2017. "Measuring market power and the efficiency of Alberta's restructured electricity market: An energy-only market design," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 50(3), pages 838-870, August.
    2. Elizabeth J. Durango‐Cohen & Liad Wagman, 2014. "Strategic obfuscation of production capacities," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 61(3), pages 244-267, April.
    3. Sirin, Selahattin Murat & Camadan, Ercument & Erten, Ibrahim Etem & Zhang, Alex Hongliang, 2023. "Market failure or politics? Understanding the motives behind regulatory actions to address surging electricity prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Newbery, David M. & Greve, Thomas, 2017. "The strategic robustness of oligopoly electricity market models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 124-132.
    5. Brown, David P. & Eckert, Andrew & Shaffer, Blake, 2023. "Evaluating the impact of divestitures on competition: Evidence from Alberta’s wholesale electricity market," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Alexander Hill, 2023. "Price freezes and gas pass-through: an estimation of the price impact of electricity market restructuring," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 87-116, April.
    7. David P. Brown & David E. M. Sappington, 2022. "Vertical integration and capacity investment in the electricity sector," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 193-226, February.
    8. Bataille, Marc & Bodnar, Olivia & Steinmetz, Alexander & Thorwarth, Susanne, 2019. "Screening instruments for monitoring market power — The Return on Withholding Capacity Index (RWC)," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 227-237.
    9. Luis Orea & Jevgenijs Steinbuks, 2018. "Estimating Market Power In Homogenous Product Markets Using A Composed Error Model: Application To The California Electricity Market," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(2), pages 1296-1321, April.
    10. Correa-Giraldo, Manuel & Garcia-Rendon, John J. & Perez, Alex, 2021. "Strategic behaviors and transfer of wholesale costs to retail prices in the electricity market: Evidence from Colombia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Noah Dormady, 2016. "Carbon Auction Revenue and Market Power: An Experimental Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Severin Borenstein, 2016. "The Power and the Limits of Industrial Organization," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 48(3), pages 241-246, May.
    13. Guo, Nongchao & Lo Prete, Chiara, 2019. "Cross-product manipulation with intertemporal constraints: An equilibrium model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    14. Meredith Fowlie & Mar Reguant & Stephen P. Ryan, 2016. "Market-Based Emissions Regulation and Industry Dynamics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 124(1), pages 249-302.
    15. Vítor Marques & Isabel Soares & Adelino Fortunato, 2012. "Application of a Structural Model to the Spanish Electricity Wholesale Market," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(4), pages 65-108.
    16. Marie-Laure Allain & Claire Chambolle & Stéphane Turolla & Sofia Villas-Boas, 2013. "The Impact of Retail Mergers on Food Prices: Evidence from France," Working Papers hal-00920460, HAL.
    17. Erin T. Mansur, 2007. "Do Oligopolists Pollute Less? Evidence From A Restructured Electricity Market," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 661-689, December.
    18. Mulder, Machiel & Schoonbeek, Lambert, 2013. "Decomposing changes in competition in the Dutch electricity market through the residual supply index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 100-107.
    19. Paul Klemperer, 2007. "Bidding Markets," Journal of Competition Law and Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-47.
    20. Simshauser, P., 2020. "Merchant utilities and boundaries of the firm: vertical integration in energy-only markets," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2039, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electricity; wholesale prices; EU Commission; abuse of dominance; ex post evaluation; E.ON;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1685. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Bibliothek (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/diwbede.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.