Code 21169
Level of study Third/Final year
Credit value 10
Semester 1
Pre-requisite modules None
Other pre-requisites None
This module has a general aim and a specific aim. The general aim of this module is to introduce students to a range of topics in economics, sufficient to allow them to understand the business and financial pages of a serious newspaper, and to appreciate the commercial context of engineering decisions that they will make in their subsequent careers. The students will also become aware of the main features of government economic policies.
The specific aim is to introduce students to economic issues in energy, and in particular to electricity system economics, since this will greatly influence the future success or failure of different low-carbon technologies.
The topics covered are: Markets, supply and demand; Companies, including company accounts and the stock market; Investment decisions for a project; The firm’s behaviour inside a market; Oil and gas pricing; Electricity system operation and investment; Electricity trading and electricity transmission; Regulation and liberalisation; Externalities and carbon trading; and Oil and the macro-economy