IDAM
Voie du Roman Pays 34/L1.03.01
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Bert Willems
Professeur
Bert Willems is a Professor in economics at the research center LIDAM and the Louvain School of Management LSM, specializing in energy economics.
He is also affiliated with Tilburg University, Toulouse University, and the Brussels based think tank, The Centre on Regulation in Europe (CERRE) and is a board member of the Benelux Association for Energy Economics (BAEE).
Bert holds degrees in economics (PhD04, MSc00) and engineering (MSc98) from KULeuven.
Professional Experience
- 2023 -
- Professor, UCLouvain
- 2010-
- Associate Professor, Tilburg University (Part-time since 2023)
- 2008-2010
- Assistant Professor, Tilburg University
- 2006-2008
- Post-Doctoral Researcher, Tilburg University (Part Time 80%)
- Post-Doctoral Researcher, Energy Transport Environment, Center for Economic Studies, KU Leuven (Part Time 20%)
- 2006
- Jean Monnet Fellow, Florence School of Regulation, European University Institute, Florence
- 2004-2005
- Senior researcher, Energy Transport Environment, Center for Economic Studies, KU Leuven
- 2004
- Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of California Energy Institute, Berkeley
- 2000-2003
- PhD researcher, Energy Transport Environment, Center for Economic Studies, KU Leuven
- 1998-1999
- Research Assistant, Applied Mechanics and Energy Conversion, KU Leuven, (Part Time)
Professional Affiliations
- 2018-
- Research Fellow, Center on Regulation in Europe, CERRE
- 2016-
- Research Associate, Toulouse School of Economics, TSE
- 2019-
- Board member, Benelux Association for Energy Economics, BAEE
- 2012-2019
- Vice-President, Benelux Association for Energy Economics, BAEE
- 2006-
- Senior Member, Tilburg Law and Economics Center, TILEC
Education
- 2004
- PhD Economics, “Electricity networks and Generation Market power“, KU Leuven
- 2001
- Visiting Scholar, Enter PhD network. Toulouse School of Economics, U. Toulouse I
- 2000
- Master of Advanced Studies in Economics, KU Leuven
- 1999
- Master of Economics, KU Leuven
- 1998
- MSc Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems, KU Leuven
- 1997
- Erasmus Exchange program, T.U.Braunschweig
- 1995
- BSc Engineering, KU Leuven
Scholarships
- 2008-2010
- Marie Curie Fellowship, Intra European Mobility, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
- 2006
- Jean Monnet Fellowship, Florence School of Regulation, EUI-Robert Schuman Centre, Italy
- 2004
- Visiting Research Associate, U. of California Energy Institute, Berkeley, USA
- 2001
- Marie Curie Fellowship, U. Toulouse I, France
- 1996-1997
- Erasmus Scholarship, T.U. Braunschweig, Germany
- Diploma
Year Label Educational Organization 1998 MSC Mechanical Engineering: Option Energy. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2000 DEC (60 ECTS) + DEA (60 ECTS) Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 2004 PhD Economics Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Bert teaches Energy Economics and Environmental Economics to Master students at the Economics School Louvain (ESL) and Louvain School of Management (LSM).
He is also responsible for coordinating the Energy Management Major of the Master in Business Engineering.
- Courses
I am an economist at the interdisciplinary research center LIDAM, who uses tools from industrial orgaization to study energy markets.
Main Research fields:
- Auctions (D44), Mechanism Design (D82),
- Industrial Organization (L1), Regulation (L4), Utilities (L9),
- Environmental Economics (Q3), Energy Economics (Q4).
Specific research questions:
- Market design (multi-unit auctions, auction theory, flexibility, congestion pricing, non-convexities, retail market competition)
- Commodity derivatives (risk sharing, investment incentives, incomplete financial markets, strategic commitment)
- Network regulation (tariffication, adverse selection, unbundling, cost allocation)
Publications
Articles
Recommendations for a future-proof electricity market design in Europe in light of the 2021-23 energy crisis, 2024, Energy Policy, 188, with Pollitt, M. G., von der Fehr, N. H. M., Banet, C., Le Coq, C., & Chyong, C. K.
The Clean Energy Package and Demand Response: Setting Correct Incentives, 2020, Energies, 13(21), with Juulia Zhou.
Long-term transmission rights and dynamic efficiency, 2020, Energy Economics, 88, 1-12, with Georgios Petropoulos.
Ten year Dutch electricity retail competition, 2019, Energy Policy, 127, 228-239, with M. Mulder.
Optimal regulation of network expansion, 2018, Rand Journal, 49(1), 23-42, with G. Zwart.
Relaxing competition through speculation: Committing to a negative supply slope, 2015, Journal of Economic Theory, 236-266, with P. Holmberg.
Exclusion through speculation, 2015, International Journal of Industrial Economics, 39, 1-9, with C. Argenton.
Market integration and economic efficiency at conflict? Commitments in the Swedish interconnectors case, 2013, World Competition Law and Economics Review, 36(1), 99-132, with M. Sadowska.
Power markets shaped by antitrust, 2013, European Competition Journal, 9(1), 131-173, with M. Sadowska.
Exclusivity contracts, insurance and financial market foreclosure, 2012, Journal of Industrial Economics, 60(4), 609-630, with C. Argenton.
Regulation of network infrastructure investments: an experimental evaluation, 2012, Journal of Regulatory Economics, 42(1), 1-38, with C. Noussair and B. Henze.
The effect of counter-trading on competition in electricity markets, 2011, Energy Policy, 39(3), 1764-1773, with J. Dijk.
Market completeness: How options affect hedging and investments in the electricity sector, 2010, Energy Economics, 32(4), 786-795 with J. Morbée.
Cost recovery in congested electricity networks, 2010, Zeitschrift für Energiewirtschaft, 34(3), 195-208, with G. Pepermans.
Arbitrage in energy markets: Competing in the incumbent's shadow, 2010, The Energy Journal, 31(3),41-66 with G. Küpper.
Where the Champsaur Commission has got it wrong, 2009, The Electricity Journal, 22(1), 81-86, with C. Crampes, J.M. Glachant, C. von Hirschhausen, F. Leveque, D. Newberry, I. Perez-Arriaga, P. Ranci, and S. Soft.
Does more international transmission capacity increase competition in the Belgian electricity market?, 2009, Electricity Journal, 22(1), 21-36 with G. Küpper, E. Delarue, B. Delvaux, L. Meeus, D. Bekaert, S. Proost, W. D’haeseleer, K. Deketelaere, and R. Belmans.
Cournot versus Supply Functions: What does the data tell us?, 2009, Energy Economics, 31(1), 38-47 with I. Rumiantseva and H. Weigt.
Cross-subsidies in the electricity sector, 2008, Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, 9(3), 201-228, with E. Ehlers.
Market power mitigation by regulating contract portfolio risk, 2008, Energy Policy, 36(10), 3787-3796, with E. de Corte.
Network unbundling, ownership structure and oligopolies: A case study for the Belgian electricity market, 2006, Competition and regulation in network industries, 7(2), 231-263, with G. Pepermans.
Modeling Cournot competition in an electricity market with transmission constraints, 2002, The Energy Journal 23(3), 95-126.
Patent
Bundles for an efficient auction design, US 2018/0218449 A1
Books
Economic aspects of climate change policy: A European and Belgian perspective, 2005, ACCO, Leuven, jointly edited with J. Eyckmans and S. Proost.
Electricity Networks and Market Power, PhD Dissertation
Chapter in books
The generation mix, price caps and capacity payments (Updated text), 2022, in EU Energy Capacity Mechanisms: Law, Policy, and Economics (Second Edition), edited by L. Hancher, A. de Hauteclocque, K. Huhta, and M. Sadowska, Oxford University Press.
The generation mix, price caps and capacity payments, 2015, in EU Energy Capacity Mechanisms: Law, Policy, and Economics, edited by L. Hancher, A. de Hauteclocque, and M. Sadowska, Oxford University Press.
Long term financial transmission rights: an experiment, 2013, with B. Henze and C. Noussair, in Financial transmission rights: analysis, experiences and prospects, edited by J. Rossellon and T. Kristiansen, Springer Verlag.
Borging van publieke belangen in de energievoorziening, (securing public interests in the provision of energy), 2010, with M. Mulder in Marktwerking en publieke belangen, edited by M.-P. Schinkel and E. van Damme, Koninklijke Vereniging voor de Staathuishoudkunde Preadviezen.
Climate change: challenges for the world, 2005, with J. Eyckmans and J.-P. van Yperseele, in Economic aspects of climate change policy, A European and Belgian perspective, edited by B. Willems, J. Eyckmans and S. Proost, Acco Leuven.
Conference proceedings
Cournot equilibrium in price-capped two settlement electricity markets, 2004, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, with J. Yao, S. Oren and I. Adler.
Policy Papers
Scaling up Offshore Wind Energy in Europe, 2023, CERRE report with Catherine Banet.
Recommendations for a Future-Proof Electricity Market Design, 2022, CERRE report, with Michael Pollitt, Nils-Henrik von der Fehr, Catherine Banet, Chloé Le Coq, Daniel Navia, Anna Rita Bennato.
Retail Energy Markets Under Stress, 2022, CERRE report, with N-H. von der Fehr, C. Banet, C. Le Coq, M. Pollitt.
The European Wholesale Electricity Market: From Crisis To Net Zero, 2022, CERRE Report, with M. Pollitt, N-H. von der Fehr, C. Banet.
Ambitions for Europe 2024, CERRE white paper, 2019, with A. de Streel, M. Bourreau, J. Krämer, M. Pollitt,N-H. von der Fehr, F.M. Baldursson, C.Banet, S. Broughton Micova, Y. Crozet. K. Donders, R. Feasey, M. Giulietti, C. Le Coq, W. Lemstra, J.L. Moraga, C.Nash
Smart Consumers in the Internet of Energy: Flexibility Markets & Services from Distributed Energy Resources, CERRE Report, 2019, with Monica Giulietti, Chloé Le Coq, and Bert Willems
2005
van Ypersele de Strihou, Jean-Pascal ; Willems, Bert ; Eyckmans, Johan. Climate change : challenges for the world. In: Environmental economics & Management : Memorandum, , no.33 (10/2005).
2023
Willems, Bert ; Yu, Yueting. Bidding and Investment in Wholesale Electricity Markets: Discriminatory versus Uniform-Price Auctions (LIDAM Discussion Paper CORE; 2023/23), 2023. 36 p.