Energy Risk
Enron files complaint against six of its former banks
Houston-based Enron last month filed a court complaint against six of its former banks, claiming they gave bad financial advice that contributed to its demise in late 2001. As a bankrupt company, Enron is required to try to recover as much as it can for…
Switching off to save cash
High electricity price volatility over the European summer has raised awareness of interruptible power contracts, finds James Ockenden
US body calls for electricity reliability organisation
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) says the creation of an electricity reliability organisation with regulatory oversight is vital for developing and enforcing mandatory reliability rules and standards for US power sector participants.
Pieter Verberne
Pieter Verberne, Amsterdam PowerExchange’s (APX) chief operatingofficer, is a busy man. The Dutchexchange is finalising the technologyupgrading of its recent acquisitions, naturalgas exchange Enmo and Automated PowerExchange, both based in the UK. It is…
Barrier to entry
Bank of America and UBS are still trying to overcome obstacles that could prevent them entering physical power trading in the US. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations represent the biggest obstacle. Paul Lyon reports
Chicago Mercantile Exchange to list European weather contracts
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has started offering European weather derivatives, referenced on five cities’ temperatures.
Calpine completes project financing in Wisconsin
California power company Calpine Corp has completed a $230 million non-recourse project financing for its 600-megawatt (MW) gas-fuelled electricity-generating Riverside Energy Center in Beloit, Wisconsin.
Breaking down the model
Brett Humphreys and Andy Dunn outline a method to help energy companies minimise potential model risk and thereby avoid costly errors in valuing deals
Power to the European gas markets
Natural Gas
US gas squeeze hits power
Natural Gas
Gas supply problems persist
Natural Gas
To store or not to store
Natural Gas
All talk, no action
Cancelled power plant auctions and the complexities of asset debt structures are bad news for the boutiques set up to acquire power assets. The boutiques talk a good business plan – but execution may prove troublesome, as Paul Lyon discovers
Tennessee’s valley of debt
Tennessee Valley Authority’s power plant financing arrangements should be measured as debt, says the US General Accounting Office, thereby putting further pressure on its politically sensitive and federally restricted debt levels. Paul Lyon reports
LNG could rescue the US
Sandy Fielden of energy market specialist Logical Information Machines looks at a potential solution to the US natural gas supply crisis: liquefied natural gas
WRMA to campaign on data and against normalisation
Lynda Clemmons, president of the US Weather Risk Management Association (WRMA), is to sit on an American Meteorological Society (AMS) panel to address issues in the weather industry involving weather data and public-private partnerships.
A true test for value-at-risk
The three classic approaches for measuring portfolio value-at-risk do not compare like with like, argues Richard Sage. Here he presents a test portfolio to highlight the differences between calculation methods
Royal Bank of Canada reaches agreement over Enron case
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has reached a settlement agreement with Enron, the Enron creditors’ committee and Dutch firm Rabobank, resolving aspects of a share transaction known as ‘Cerberus’. The transaction also involved the use of total return…
Utilities cut spending on IT
Energy utilities have cut spending on IT by 13% so far this year, according to the initial results of a study by Connecticut-based consultancy the Meta Group.
Deregulation versus re-regulation
While the US authorities are still ironing kinks out of a major electricity market redesign and looking to repeal the utility industry’s most influential Act, US regulators and self regulators are moving to fill the vacuum. Catherine Lacoursière reports
System-ready for Sarbanes-Oxley
Energy companies are not alone in having to review their operations to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Energy software suppliers, too, are looking at their systems, although most are confident they are already well prepared, finds Clive Davidson
A hard Act to follow
The final piece of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – section 404 – falls into place this month, requiring internal control reports. While the Act may go some way to restoring investor confidence, it is costing energy companies dear, finds Kevin Foster
Water faces rising costs
UK water utilities are expecting rising electricity and environmental costs as they and their regulator prepare for the next five-year price review. Maria Kielmas reports
Taiwan’s growing risk appetite
Relying on imports for most of its energy requirements and constrained by the government’s view that risk management is gambling, how can Taiwan tackle the challenge of price risk in its growing energy sector? By David Hayes