Is Marginal Cost Pricing still the ideal electricity market design?

After years of low energy prices in the U.S., and generally low prices elsewhere across the world, 2021-2022 saw a steep increase in wholesale electricity prices, especially in Europe, but elsewhere including in the United States as well. This has led some in the industry and the media to challenge the idea that the price of electricity, set by the marginal cost to provide energy, should be paid to all resources that clear the market. Proponents of marginal cost pricing share the benefits it brings with innovation and competition. Others share the increased payments that may be paid by loads under this paradigm. Policies have suggested caps for inframarginal resources and others have suggested designs that stray from the existing structures. This panel session will include panelists sharing existing challenges facing markets across the world, insights on the benefits of marginal cost pricing, those that argue a new design is warranted, and some examples of how that design may look like and the pros and cons of those alternatives. Presentations in this panel session: - A potential new market structure: Swing Contracts (23PESGM4259) - Yes, Virginia, We Still Need Locational Marginal Pricing in a World of ìZero Marginal Costî Renewable Generation (23PESGM4436)