The past 18 months have been challenging for power market participants in North America. With some dealers having retreated as a result of capital constraints and increased regulation, liquidity became relatively scarce. Meanwhile, the polar vortex that swept into the US in early 2014 gave rise to wildly fluctuating prices.

The volatility was most marked between January and March last year, with many market-makers pulling back and a wide gap opening between bids and offers. But despite this