Is a proposed solution to energy-trading woes too little too late?
The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) representing various utilities and merchant energy companies, recently released a set of detailed guidelines to improve the image and overall practices of energy trading, but the effort misses the mark.
A surprisingly timid effort for an industry on the brink.
The purpose for the Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) recommendations, as stated in the introduction to their 198-page opus, is "to provide guidance on new methods and tools to establish a strong foundation for future growth in this (merchant energy) industry." But the reality is that the recommendations, almost without exception, fail to provide strong leadership in the areas of past and potential future abuse.
The speculative electricity trading industry has a bad case of rigor mortis, but current efforts might breathe new life into the practice.
Trading is dead. At least that’s what some analysts are saying about the electricity markets. “Trading died with Enron on Dec. 2, 2001,” says Mark Williams, an energy risk management expert at Boston University. Whether trading is really dead or not, some signs of a rebirth are beginning to emerge.
Green Generation Feels the Squeeze
Pension Plans May Slow Utility Growth in 2003
The economic downturn is increasing utility pension plan costs and liabilities.
While 401(k) stock option plans have increasingly displaced traditional pension plans in corporate America, many mature firms like electric utilities are still administering sizeable pension plans that in the recent economic downturn could compromise future earnings, according to a report by investment bank CIBC World Markets (CIBC).
Planned or Private?
We Can Work It Out
Solving the industry's problems will require cooperation between the federal government and states.
If we are to successfully forge a new, efficient and customer-focused structure for the electric industry, state and federal regulators must work together to ensure reliable supplies of electricity at the lowest cost possible in markets that are truly competitive and free of market manipulation.
Fortnightly: A New Frontier
Presenting a new look and new editorial content for 2003.
In this Jan. 1, 2003, issue, Public Utilities Fortnightly magazine takes pause in this column from its energy industry commentary to tell readers about several important developments at the magazine.