Scarcity pricing is an economists dream and a Grid Operators nightmare. Texas is now living through the nightmare of scarcity pricing.
I've learned there is more art than science in the economists tool box. The science shines through economic theory, piercing the veil of a "rosy picture", to reveal the real risks when things go bad. I've written about the need to ensure a reliable electric supply in the past.
I've trained myself to trigger that great song by John Lennon, "Imagine", when reading papers on economic theory within electric markets, as a reminder of the artistic nature of many of these design concepts and the need to sprinkle them with a dose of science as a litmus test.