Policy risk
Searching for sellers in 2003
High volatility and rising prices in 2003 clearly above fundamental levels signal the need for improved guidelines from legislative institutions andeasily accessible information
JP Morgan Chase plans electricity trading foray
JP Morgan Chase is planning to enter power trading, just as the US energy regulator overturns its onerous stock-holding limit rule. PaulLyon reports
Arnie’s energy plan faces opposition
Californian governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is facing stiff opposition and awkward questions over his energy deregulation plans. In particular, one consumer group is concerned about the implications of his meeting with formerEnron chairman Ken Lay…
Blackouts spark supply debate
The world’s energy regulators met in Rome last month, days after the Italian blackout on September 28. Perfect timing, it would seem – but what are the regulators going to do about Europe’s bottlenecked grid? Paul Lyon reports
Radioactiveliabilities
Creditors have agreed nuclear generator British Energy’s restructuring package. But without European Union agreement over the UK government’s £4 billion in subsidy, these creditor agreements could be meaningless. James Ockenden reports
Running late
Compliance with the new International Financial Reporting Standards is likely to have a big effect on the volatility of oil, natural gas and utility companies’ reported earnings. Yet the sector has been slow to implement the IASB standards, finds James…
Russian roulette
European and US oil companies are tipped to be big investors in Russia’s oil market. But while rewards could be great, any decision to invest in thecountry will be fraught with difficulties. Paul Lyon reports
Lands of confusion
Oil production uncertainties in Iraq and political doubts in Russia and Venezuelaare keeping crude prices well above historical averages. MariaKielmas reports
Eyeing the pricing
US energy regulators are keeping an ever-more-watchful eye on gas and power price reporting – but are they finally flexing their muscles appropriately? Paul Lyon reports
The politics of betting
Using markets to forecast political events may not be as strange an idea as it seemed in July, when a terrorism futures scheme collapsed. But there is still scepticism as to whether such an approach would be ethical or effective. By Maria Kielmas
People swaps
Buchanan appointed Ofgem chief executive UK energy regulator the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has appointed Alistair Buchanan as chief executive. Previously head of European utilities research at Dutch bank ABN Amro, Buchanan (pictured)…
Rothschild enters oil risk sector
Heading the senior team is Martin Fraenkel, previously managing director of JPMorgan Chase's global commodities group in London. Fraenkel has recruited hissenior team from outside Rothschild. KamalInvestment bank Rothschild has entered the oil risk…
Gas supply problems persist
Natural gas prices are likely to remain high, as the Bush administration’s efforts to open up new sources of supply continue to face opposition. Kevin Foster reports
Barrier to entry
Bank of America and UBS are still trying to overcome obstacles that could prevent them entering physical power trading in the US. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations represent the biggest obstacle. Paul Lyon reports
US body calls for electricity reliability organisation
The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) says the creation of an electricity reliability organisation with regulatory oversight is vital for developing and enforcing mandatory reliability rules and standards for US power sector participants.
People swaps
BOC’s Mortimer to join European energy users’ body Hugh Mortimer, commercial manager at UK industrial group BOC, has been invited to join the board of the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers Europe (IFIEC). He will replace David…
Watching the home front
The growing international controversy about Iran’s nuclear ambitions as well as internal unrest may stall foreign investment in the country’s energy sector in a way that US sanctions have failed to do. Maria Kielmas reports
Taiwan’s growing risk appetite
Relying on imports for most of its energy requirements and constrained by the government’s view that risk management is gambling, how can Taiwan tackle the challenge of price risk in its growing energy sector? By David Hayes
Water faces rising costs
UK water utilities are expecting rising electricity and environmental costs as they and their regulator prepare for the next five-year price review. Maria Kielmas reports
A hard Act to follow
The final piece of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – section 404 – falls into place this month, requiring internal control reports. While the Act may go some way to restoring investor confidence, it is costing energy companies dear, finds Kevin Foster
System-ready for Sarbanes-Oxley
Energy companies are not alone in having to review their operations to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Energy software suppliers, too, are looking at their systems, although most are confident they are already well prepared, finds Clive Davidson
Deregulation versus re-regulation
While the US authorities are still ironing kinks out of a major electricity market redesign and looking to repeal the utility industry’s most influential Act, US regulators and self regulators are moving to fill the vacuum. Catherine Lacoursière reports
WRMA to campaign on data and against normalisation
Lynda Clemmons, president of the US Weather Risk Management Association (WRMA), is to sit on an American Meteorological Society (AMS) panel to address issues in the weather industry involving weather data and public-private partnerships.
Both sides of the fence: a statistical and regulatory view of electricity risk
Ernst Eberlein and Gerhard Stahl analyse price series of 25 energy spot rates simultaneously using Lévy models. This model class allows the capture of stochastic behaviour of these financial instruments. The implications of this analysis will form the…