Electricity futures

This one is not written up yet

The definition above is the short version. A full explanation — how it works, a worked example and the exam traps — is still being written. In the meantime the chapter below covers it in context.

Written up from the same chapter

• Clearing corporationThe entity that steps between every buyer and seller in the derivatives segment by novation, becoming the counterparty to both sides and guaranteeing that the trade settles.
• DerivativeA contract whose value is derived from the value of something else — the underlying — rather than from anything the contract itself owns or produces.
• Forward contractA bilateral, over-the-counter agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset on a fixed future date at a price agreed today — customised to suit them, and binding on both.
• Futures contractA standardised forward traded on an exchange, where the exchange fixes every term except the price and the clearing corporation guarantees settlement, so neither side carries the other's default risk.
• Option premiumThe price an option buyer pays the seller for the right the contract carries — non-refundable, and made up of intrinsic value plus time value.
• Price discoveryThe process by which the free interaction of buyers and sellers produces a price that reflects every participant's expectation of what the underlying will be worth at a future date.