What's behind today's oddball mergers?
Look at the gargantuan, gerrymandered service territories you would get with the latest pending merger deals: Exelon-PSEG, Duke-Cinergy, and Warren Buffet's bid to combine PacifiCorp with his MidAmerican Energy. Now ask yourself if they make any sense.
Financial players bring credit depth to energy markets, but will they play by the rules?
The center of gravity for energy marketing and trading activity is moving from Houston to Wall Street. Some major financial institutions already have plunged into the market, while others are testing the waters, gearing up to participate in a bigger way. Already their impact is being felt, and it is most definitely welcome.
An evolving market demands a greater focus on power prices and required return on equity.
Valuation can be difficult even in stable markets, and executives setting their company's strategic course need to understand how the market for power projects is evolving and what may lie ahead.
The Association of Edison Illuminating Cos. (AEIC) elected new officers. Thomas Shockley III, vice chairman and chief operating officer of American Electric Power, was elected president of AEIC. Elected as first vice president was Peter Burg, chairman and CEO of FirstEnergy. Richard Grigg, president and COO of We Energies, was elected second vice president.
Even the volatility is volatile. And that can play havoc with hedging.
Jeff Skilling resigned from Enron over a year ago-after power prices in markets serving California had fallen 90 percent in three months.
But in July, Bank of America won approval from the Treasury Department to offer cash-settled electricity derivatives-with a former Enron regional director at the head of the desk.
So what has changed, and what hasn't?
Experts say utilities' inconsistent approach to weather risk is costing them dearly.
Experts debate how energy companies should be valued in the wake of electric restructuring and Enron.
Frontlines
Prices Hit a Pique
California pays the bill, but who gets the blame- the feds or the fundamentals?
What did they know and when did they know it? That's what California consumers are asking utility regulators and system operators, now that the heat of summer has made a shambles of the state's vision of electricity competition.
Frontlines
T+D Out, G+D In
Why not keep the power plants and sell off transmission instead?