The past year has been tough for power market participants. In Europe, an influx of renewable generation has pushed down power prices, rendering short-term price swings less predictable and making the business of trading electricity trickier and less profitable than it once was. In the US, banks have been pressured by new regulations to reduce their risk appetites and shut their proprietary trading units, with many firms pulling out of the market as a result.

Against this backdrop, non-bank