Electricity
Mirant to pay $460m to settle California energy crisis claims
Bankrupt Atlanta-based energy marketer Mirant will pay $460 million to California power utilities and public agencies to resolve claims related to the state’s energy crisis in 2000 and 2001. The California utilities and agencies in the settlement were…
Dutch-Norwegian power transmission link may spur electricity trading
A newly agreed Norway-Netherlands electricity transmission link will lead to power trading between the two countries, said Swiss power and automation technology group ABB. The link will also increase the reliability of electricity supply, said the…
Duke to settle California power crisis allegations
US power company Duke Energy and some of its subsidiaries will pay $207.5 million to settle allegations that it acted improperly during the California power crisis in 2000/2001. The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) approved the settlement…
AsiaRisk Awards
Here we feature two outstanding winners from our sister publication AsiaRisk’s Annual Awards, published in October. Thanks largely to Macquarie Bank, alternative investments are gaining a real foothold in Australia, while Westpac has been instumental in…
Trading techniques
Merchant generators make daily decisions on how to get the most from their assets.How much capacity should be sold in the day-ahead market and how much shouldbe set aside for the hourly market are seldom-studied but thorny questions. ShulangChen looks at…
Trading techniques
A majority of merchant power plants built during the last few years in the US are combined-cycle units fired by natural gas. This article discusses asset-backed trading strategies for a merchant single-block power plant, showing how unit dispatches can…
Calpine trades up
US power company Calpine installed a new trading floor this year due both to its own growth and its aim to provide more companies with energy services. Joe Marsh reports
Caring competition
What are the theoretical consequences of restructuring electricity markets on emissions? Here, Benoît Sévi shows that changes in supply and consumption and restructuring for competition has environmental effects, and argues that strong public policies…
Utility 2025: a vision
Power companies will face enormous political, societal, and technological change over the next 20 years. Douglas Houseman and Dennis Taylor of Capgemini look at how the utility of the future should embrace change
Dominion buys 310MW plant from Dynegy and NRG
Dominion Virginia Power, the power utility subsidiary of Dominion, today completed the purchase of the 310-megawatt Commonwealth power plant in Chesapeake, Virginia. The move is consistent with its aim of reducing the cost of long-term power purchase…
California ISO gets tough on generators with new software
Power suppliers in California will face financial penalties if they deviate from pre-specified generation levels as of December 1. This is one of the main changes brought in by a new software system implemented by the California independent system…
Dynegy to buy Sithe Energies from Exelon
Dynegy is set to reduce the effect of some of its loss-making tolling and financial swap contracts, buy power plants in the northeast US and acquire a supply agreement to increase stable cashflow and service debt.
Clear intentions
The Alberta Watt Exchange in Calgary is already clearing over-the-counter electricity contracts and from next year will be able to clear natural gas as well. But how much liquidity will it attract? Joe Marsh reports
Nymex to launch New England electricity futures contract
The New York Mercantile Exchange will introduce a New England swap futures contract on its ClearPort trading platform on October 31.
US Midwest a step closer to wholesale power market
After several delays, the Midwest wholesale power market might now be on course for launch next March. The Midwest independent transmission system operator (Miso) today announced the creation of three financial hubs for the wholesale trading of…
Calpine to provide Newmarket with energy services
Calpine Energy Services (CES), part of California-based power company Calpine Corp, is to provide energy services to Newmarket Services Company. Newmarket is a newly formed subsidiary of New York- and London-based asset acquisition firm MMC Energy and…
Duke sells part-built power plant to Nevada Power
The big US energy asset sell-off continued late last week, when Nevada Power Company bought a part-built 1,200 megawatt power plant for $182 million from Duke Energy. North Carolina-based Duke will receive proceeds and tax benefits of $330 million from…
Nymex ends open-outcry trading of PJM monthly power futures
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) will move daytime trading of the PJM monthly electricity futures contract to ClearPort, its internet-based system, from the open-outcry trading floor on November 1.
Edison Mission Energy sells stake in NZ utility
California-based Edison Mission Energy has completed the sale of its 51.2% stake in New Zealand-based Contact Energy to Origin Energy New Zealand. Origin paid NZ$1.1 billion ($739 million) in cash and assumed NZ$535 million ($359 million) in debt to take…
El Paso makes $198m from further asset sales
Houston-based energy company El Paso Corp has sold four more power plants to Northern Star Generation for $147 million, continuing its mass sell-off of assets. El Paso’s merchant energy subsidiary has also received a final instalment of $51 million on…
Allegheny Energy to sell Illinois power plant
Pennsylvania-based Allegheny Energy is to sell a power plant in Manhattan, Illinois for $173 million to a private investment firm that specialises in energy assets. ArcLight Capital Partners has agreed to buy the 672-megawatt (MW) Lincoln Generating…
Ameren on course to buy Illinois Power Company
US energy company Ameren Corp has received Illinois Commerce Commission approval to buy Illinois Power Company (IP) from Houston energy company Dynegy. The $2.3 billion deal – which is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter – still requires…
Williams to retain energy trading business
Oklahoma-based energy company Williams said late last week it will continue operating its energy trading business, having failed to sell the rest of the wholesale power division. The company is focusing on long-term supply contracts and doing only a very…
Goldman Sachs buys more US power plants
Goldman Sachs has added to its portfolio of US physical energy assets by buying equity interests in 12 power plants and a natural gas pipeline for $656 million from bankrupt Maryland-based National Energy & Gas Transmission (NEGT). The investment bank…