Methods and Tools for Improving the Efficiency of Debt Management in the Wholesale Electricity and Capacity Market
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines debt in the wholesale electricity and capacity market as a systemic problem affecting not only the payment discipline of individual market participants, but also the sustainability of the electric power industry as a whole. It is shown that the centralized model of payment organization in the wholesale electricity and capacity market is historically determined by the technological and institutional nature of the electric power industry; however, it also creates prerequisites for time lags, cash gaps, and the cascading spread of non-payments. The paper substantiates that full decentralization of the payment architecture of the wholesale electricity and capacity market is inappropriate, as it may reduce market controllability and create risks for the reliability of electricity supply. As an alternative, the article proposes a debt tokenization mechanism considered as a digital add-on to the existing centralized model of payment organization. The article compares traditional, tokenized, and combined debt management models, identifies their advantages and limitations, and proposes a method for determining the structure of debt according to administration mechanisms. The method provides for the allocation of debt among the traditional, tokenized, and combined contours, as well as a temporarily excluded part, based on the criteria of legal certainty, systemic significance, probability and timing of recovery, liquidity, discount, market demand, and risk concentration. It is substantiated that the practical implementation of tokenized and combined models requires the creation of specialized digital infrastructure — a blockchain marketplace for tokenized debt. The article concludes that the most appropriate organizational format for its implementation is public-private partnership, which makes it possible to combine institutional control by the state with the technological and operational efficiency of the private sector. The proposed approach is aimed at accelerating the return of liquidity to the payment contour of the wholesale electricity and capacity market, reducing the risk of cascading non-payments, and strengthening the sustainability of the electric power industry.
Authors: Andrei Sviatov, Alexey Filatov
Institution: Ivanovo State Power University
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7212257559