Law & Lawyers

FERC's Tough New Rules: Survival Skills for A New Era

The nation’s first energy “top cop” and his colleague discuss important compliance implications of EPACT 2005.

In its March 2005 report to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) repeated its request for enhanced civil penalty authority. When Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), it granted FERC all the authority that it had requested, and more. The new director of FERC’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) called the new penalty authority “awesome.”1

Byline: 
By William F. Hederman Jr. and George D. Billinson
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Smackdown! Round Three - The Bankruptcy Court vs. FERC

The jurisdictional battle over authorizing rejection of wholesale power contracts continues.

The high stakes turf battle over whether FERC or the federal bankruptcy courts have jurisdiction over rejecting wholesale power contracts is now in its third round. Round one was fought in 2003 in the NRG bankruptcy case and ended in a settlement among the parties. Round two followed with the Mirant Chapter 11 case. Now punches and counterpunches are flying in round three: the Calpine bankruptcy.

Byline: 

Howard L. Siegel

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East Vs. West: Growing the Grid

The models and motives behind tomorrow’s transmission expansion.

Major transmission projects based on two distinct models are showing signs of life. What can these projects teach us about future transmission investment?

Byline: 

Bruce W. Radford

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The Key to California's Coal Future

Don’t overlook high-quality, project-based emissions reductions.

By Mike Burnett and Bjorn Fischer

Mike Burnett is executive director of the Climate Trust. Bjorn Fischer is business development manager at the Climate Trust. Contact Fischer at bfischer@climatetrust.org. The Climate Trust is a non-profit committed to providing high quality, project-based reductions and advancing the policies that support them. Its offices are located in Portland, Ore.

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Energy Hedge Funds: Market Makers or Market Breakers?

Should utilities and consumers be concerned about these obscure investment groups?

The total hedge-fund universe currently approaches $1.1 trillion, about 5 percent of which is dedicated exclusively to energy. These numbers for energy hedge funds are likely to grow at unprecedented rates. How can your company benefit?

“Mysterium tremendum et fascinans”: The Latin phrase, coined by German theologian Rudolf Otto, which characterizes humans as being overwhelmed and fascinated by experiences that are totally different from ordinary life.1

Byline: 
By Dan Scotto
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A Primer on Hedge Funds

“Hedge funds … are unregistered private investment partnerships, funds, or pools that may invest and trade in many different markets, strategies, and instruments (including securities, non-securities, and derivatives) and are NOT subject to the same regulatory requirements as mutual funds, including mutual fund requirements to provide certain periodic and standardized pricing and valuation information to investors. There are substantial risks in investing in Hedge Funds.”1

Byline: 
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After PUHCA Repeal: The State Response

Will the industry be able to meet capital investment and growth expectations?

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 gave states a new federally enforceable right to access holding company books and records, but concern remains that some of these initiatives may run counter to the goal of capital attraction.

Byline: 

Robert W. Gee

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Field-Force Management: What's New for the Mobile Workforce?

How the maturation of location tracking can increase efficiency.

To realize the enterprise benefits of field-force management, utility executives and managers should pay keen attention to advancements in real-time location tracking; fully extending mobile workforce management in the enterprise, back-end connectivity with enterprise-wide systems; and security of mobile applications.

Byline: 

Greg Kneuer

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CRM and Outsourcing: Inventing the Modern Utility

Developments in IT, outsourcing, customer information and customer relationship systems are challenging long-held notions on essential operations.

New developments in IT, outsourcing, customer information systems, and customer relationship management are challenging long held notions about utilities’ essential operations.

Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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CRM and Outsourcing: Outsourcing Growth?

A behind-the-scenes look at what industry influencers are saying.

Understanding the downstream effects of reading and billing from a customer’s meter in a near real-time scenario will increase significantly the data throughput into current customer information systems. Can current systems handle the volume increase? Will call centers have the capacity to handle increased call volumes once customers have access to smart meters and all that they imply? In this case, would outsourcing certain information technology processes be the answer to reducing a utility’s risk and costs?

Byline: 

Richard Charles

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