Calgary is fast becoming to Canada what Houston is to the US: the energy centre of the country. It is home to the 10-year-old Natural Gas Exchange (NGX) and power exchange the Alberta Watt Exchange (Watt-Ex), and Houston-based energy hedge fund Centaurus opened an office there in August.

And the Watt-Ex is expanding its remit – from the start of 2005, it will be able to clear not just over-the-counter (OTC) electricity contracts, as it started doing this year, but also physical and financially