The following provides summaries of the research in progress by staff of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. The Institute’s unique multidisciplinary expertise allows it to examine the economics, the politics and the sociology of energy with a focus on oil and natural gas.
The specific subjects of research in progress, while set within these broad lines, necessarily reflects the particular research capacities, skills and interests of the research fellows.
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Decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation are three major pillars reshaping electricity systems; enabling consumers to monetise their flexible load and optimise their consumption, without necessarily sacrificing their comfort; with smart infrastructures, assisting utilities to improve their operational efficiency; and promoting active grid management by distribution system operators. However, existing market design and regulation has developed in […]
The Helm Review of The Cost of Energy (which in practice focused on electricity) was published in October 2017. It contained a penetrating analysis of the political and technical challenges facing the UK electricity industry and a number of radical proposals for reform. In doing so it raised some fundamental issues about the industry’s future, […]
Auctions are increasingly being used for the procurement of new services and resources within electricity systems. For instance, auctions are now a standard means of promoting renewables; capacity auctions are being introduced in many countries; tenders for specialised services (like black start and frequency response) are commonly employed by grid operators; and the recent Helm […]
It is well accepted that markets are the most effective arena for organising productive activities. In the liberalisation of electricity sectors the role for government was envisioned as that of the “night watchman” that intervenes in the market only when the latter fails to allocate scare resources efficiently or when the operation of the market […]
This paper provides a critical review of the economic basis of the OECD power sector model, interrogating its relevance for desired sector outcomes in both developed and developing countries. The paper finds that the OECD model – as well as the related non-OECD standard model – has not been implemented in its ideal form in […]
Efficiency analysis lies at the heart of incentive-based regulation of electricity distribution networks. Most regulatory authorities have graduated from using exclusively ex ante (rate of return based) reviews of firms’ expenditures to relying also on ex post assessments of their costs – the latter are underpinned by benchmarking techniques (Poudineh and Jamasb, 2014). However, an […]
A new OIES paper on outlook of Russia’s gas productive capacity: ruble depreciation in 2015-18 helped Gazprom turn… https://t.co/BFnUnoazVe
December 18th
Shrinking surplus – the outlook for Russia’s spare gas productive capacity https://t.co/25GVSHw2Qo
December 17th
Rogers on Pacific Coast LNG plans and Shell’s approval to construct a $30 billion export terminal in British Columb… https://t.co/koheAUcCNa
December 17th
