Letter to the Editor

A response to "Frontlines," Feb. 1, 2002.

Kudos to you for your well‑developed editorial pointing out that the administration's announcement is not quite half baked, and that utilities are key to the implementation of a hydrogen fueled transportation initiative.

100-to-1 Odds

Why merchant transmission still looks iffy.

The other week, courtesy of Infocast and its Transmission Summit 2002, held in Washington, D.C. in late January, I got to see, hear, and ask questions of three emerging stars of the merchant transmission biz.

Technology Mitigates Risk

Gas Race: Technology Mitigates Risk in Anadarko’s Western Canadian Gas Exploration Campaign

Beware of the eternal doomsayer who persists in warning we're going to run out of oil or gas sometime in our children or grandchildren's lifetimes. That's the advice from members of the exploration and production community who've seen firsthand the power of technology in finding and producing reserves.

M&A 2002: The Need for Strategic Clarity

What type of merger strategy should energy companies pursue in light of new industry uncertainties?

Learn about the nature of mergers and acquisitions expected within the natural gas, power, and energy utility sector.

FERC's New Move: A Single Tariff

Finding that "market design flaws are visible in every regional electric market today," FERC released its working paper on standardized transmission service and wholesale electric design on March 15. The work in progress outlines key principles and policy decisions on standard market design (SMD) to guide FERC in developing a revised open access transmission tariff (OATT).

Locational Marginal Pricing

How PJM turns redispatch into market signals.

Figures 1 and 2 show an example of locational marginal pricing (LMP) presented by PJM at a FERC meeting held Jan. 22.

Bid-Offer Spreads: A Hedging Device

How exactly does a retail energy marketer use the spread as a hedging device?

Bid-Offer spread represents the profit a market-maker or intermediary demands for creating liquidity. This spread is composed of the intermediary’s variable cost per deal plus any liquidity risk they may bear.

Breakdown of Tariff Risk

Explaining timing risks and magnitude risks.

Tariff risk is that risk which the marketer incurs downstream of the uplift. This risk can be broken into Timing Risk (I - III) and Magnitude Risk (IV-VI) as illustrated below.

The Gas-Power Vision: Five Obstacles

Regulatory and rate proceedings at FERC can be time consuming and expensive, but this hurdle can be overcome.

For the natural gas infrastructure and the available pipeline system capacity to be utilized as a foundation for the reduction in power transmission congestion, there are certain issues that need to be addressed.