Is Intraday Power Becoming an Algo-Only Market?
I've been following GB power markets closely and building my own models on imbalance prices. A few people in the industry have told me the intraday market is now largely dominated by algorithmic and HFT firms like Optiver, with utilities and smaller desks losing ground on short-term trading.
For those trading power now:
- How much of intraday volume would you say is algo-driven today, in GB and on the continent?
- Where do human traders still have an edge, for example in longer-dated trading, origination or asset optimisation?
- Has the rise of battery storage changed who wins in intraday and balancing?
- Do you see the same shift coming to physical oil, gas and LNG, or does the physical side protect human seats?
Part of why I'm asking is that I'm finishing university, and this is pushing me away from power and towards physical oil and gas. I did a year placement in a central bank's markets area, where I built an energy market dashboard used during the Hormuz closure and sat in on calls with energy dealers.
I think the mix of market exposure and modelling is useful, but most of my projects so far are in power, so I'd like to add some that show I understand the physical side, such as freight, cargo economics or arbitrage between regions.
If you've got recommendations for projects or data sources that would be useful for someone aiming at physical trading, I'd appreciate them.