Electricity
A question of priority
The US Energy Policy Act of 2005 calls for a review of existing power dispatch methods. But replacing today's regional methods with a one-size-fits-all plan throws up many concerns, writes Richard McMahon
E.ON bids $35 bn for Endesa
German power and gas company E.ON has announced a $35 billion (29.1 billion euro) bid for Spain’s largest power company Endesa.
Spectron brokers first UK dark spread
The first brokered UK dark spread has been traded through UK-headquartered brokerage Spectron. The trade, between Sempra and Scottish Power was a Summer ‘06 deal, representing 5,000 tonnes of coal (API#2) versus 15 MW of electricity. It is understood to…
At the flick of a switch
Jesper Andreasen and Martin Dahlgren present a regime-switching model for electricity derivatives that incorporates spiky spot-price dynamics and allows for closed-form pricing of forwards, options and swaptions
FPL/Constellation merger could be tip of iceberg
High gas prices look set to usher in a wave of fresh consolidation in the utility sector, as companies strive to save costs
To build or not to build
Europe needs more power. But a lack of clear pricing signals and the unknown impact of new environmental legislation is making risk forecasting difficult, and could hinder new plant construction
BarCap takes on Duke trading book
Barclays Capital will acquire and manage the bulk of Duke Energy North America’s (DENA) power and gas derivatives contracts, as part of parent Duke Energy Corp’s takeover of US utility Cinergy.
Counting on coal
NRG Energy's move to buy Texas Genco seems a wise one for a company with strong dark-spread exposure, but it has its risks, despite the target company being backed by an active hedging programme. Joe Marsh reports