Power TAC teams develop an independent trading agent that competes against other agents in the Power Trading Agent Competition. Power TAC is a competitive simulation that models a “liberalized” retail electrical energy market in which competing business entities or “brokers” offer energy services to customers through tariff contracts. They then serve those customers by trading in a wholesale market. Brokers are challenged to maximize their profits by buying and selling energy in the wholesale and retail markets, subject to fixed costs and constraints. The winner of an individual “game” is the broker with the highest bank balance at the end of a simulation run. Costs mimic real world considerations and include fees or penalties for publication and withdrawal of tariffs, rectifying supply-demand imbalances, contributions to peak demand, and for customer connections. The competing brokers are designed by teams from around the globe.