Open source software (OSS) expresses the idea that developers should be able to license the publication of their software in a manner permitting anyone to freely use, modify and distribute the software. Today OSS is widely used in the software industry: for example, for language development tools (eg, NetBeans for Java), office document processors (eg, OpenOffice) and operating systems (eg, Linux, OpenSolaris).Yet OSS has been slow to penetrate the power industry; heavy reliance is still placed on closed-source commercial software packages. Open source software tends to be used for specialized purposes (eg, circuit design) rather than for the general-purpose analysis of power systems. This study discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of developing OSS for power market research, using the AMES Wholesale Power Market Test Bed for concrete illustration.