American Gas Association

People (December 2012)

Tennessee Valley Authority named William D. Johnson president and CEO. Northeast Utilities appointed James W. Hunt as v.p. of regulatory affairs and community relations. Pepco Holdings Inc. promoted Donna J. Kinzel to v.p., treasurer and chief risk officer, Kevin M. McGowan to v.p., regulatory affairs, and O. Ray Bourland to v.p., public policy. And others...

Hedging or Betting?

Lacking regulatory oversight, financial hedges turn into risky speculation.

Many utilities engage in hedging to protect customers from price spikes. But unless regulators are involved in crafting and monitoring these programs, they can turn into speculative ventures that put ratepayers at risk — for the benefit of shareholders.

Hedging Under Scrutiny

Planning ahead in a low-cost gas market.

IIt’s ironic that in today’s market, as the cost of hedging against commodity price increases has declined, support for utility hedging programs has sunk to a historic low. The ideal time to hedge is when prices are low and markets are relatively calm, because that’s when hedging costs and risks are the lowest. Conversely, waiting until prices rise and markets become volatile will expose customers to higher costs. Convincing regulators to approve hedging programs now will require a collaborative approach to educating and enlisting support from stakeholders.

People (November 2010)

DTE names Gerard Anderson CEO; Arthur Meyer ascends to general counsel at Dayton Power & Light and DPL; Exelon names new executives, including Calvin Butler, s.v.p. of human resources and Susan Weiss, v.p. of commercial operations; Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions appoints former FERC Commissioner Branko Terzic executive director, and adds former FERC Commissioner William Hederman to its energy and resources group; other executive changes at OGE Energy, Ameren, Chesapeake Utilities, El Paso Electric, Otter Tail, ISO New England, EPRI, AGA, NIST, and more.

People

(December 2008) Arizona Public Service named Daniel Froetscher vice president of energy delivery. Southwest Gas Corp. hired Don Soderberg as vice president of external affairs.Chesapeake Utilities Corp. named Michael P. McMasters as executive vice president and COO. American Gas Association elected Thomas E. Skains chairman. And others...

Energy Technology: Cultivating Clean Tech

New Models for Energy RD&D: A new ‘Clean Energy Institute’ could lead the industry’s war on climate change.

Clean-energy R&D needs better funding and leadership to meet aggressive greenhouse-gas emissions reduction targets. But how does the industry get there, and what management model best suits achieving such lofty goals? A new ‘clean-energy institute’ might be the answer.

The Late Great Gas Utility

By abandoning R&D and marketing, the gas industry may have sealed its own fate.

Gas producers and utilities have all but abandoned R&D and marketing. Is it too late to reverse the death spiral, or can the industry learn from other check-off marketing successes?

When the Price Is Right

How to measure hedging effectiveness and regulatory policy.

Hedging programs promise protection against energy-market price spikes, and they can be important to the regulatory goal of sustainable, lowest long-term service cost. But how much price protection is enough in natural-gas markets? What is the most efficient use of risk capital when hedging energy supplies?

When Shippers Seek Release

Price caps, secondary markets, and the revolution in natural-gas portfolio management.

When FERC decided in February, in Order 890, to lift the price cap for electric-transmission customers seeking to resell their grid capacity rights in the secondary market, it cautioned against expecting a quid pro quo for gas. Was the commission just teasing?