Williams

Energy Risk Management: Rise of the Chief Risk Officer

The new CROs are bringing back much-needed discipline to restore investor confidence.

The new CROs are bringing back much-needed discipline to restore investor confidence.

Scott Smith's title is senior vice president and chief risk officer. But when he's out of earshot, some people at AEP call him the chief SOB.

"I'm not a popular guy," Smith says half-jokingly. "I continually get comments about what a pain I am. My people are aggressive and they don't take any crap."

People



Glenn P. Barba has been elected vice president and controller of Consumers Energy. He joined the utility in 2001 as controller. Previously, he served as controller for CMS Generation. Before joining CMS Generation in 1997, Barba spent nine years in public accounting, with a focus on the energy industry. Consumers Energy also named Kim D. Morris, a 20-year human resources veteran at the company, as human resources director for Consumers Energy's generating plants.

A Vision for Trasmission: How the RTOs Stand

And where the trouble spots lie in FERC's grid plan.


And where the trouble spots lie in FERC's grid plan.

The mood appeared calm on June 26 in Washington, D.C., at the regular bi-weekly meeting of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Key officials from various regional transmission organizations (RTOs) had gathered before chairman Pat Wood and the other commissioners to brief them on progress over the past year in reforming wholesale electric markets, and on what the FERC might expect in the summer at hand.

Gas Turbinemania: The Merchant Power Plant Shake Out

Why it happened? Who lost in the bust? Who will survive to build another turbine?

Some merchant generation developers never saw the generation glut coming. Presenting the winners and losers of the latest cycle of boom, bubble, and collapse in the merchant generation industry.

Barbarians at the Gates

FERC... SEC... CFTC...Congress ... Ratings Agencies... Stockholders... Bondholders... Private Equity Investors?

No one has yet quantified or qualified the devastation to industry reputation, electric competition, or energy companies' future earnings power caused by the current round of energy trading scandals that is shaking the industry to its core.

Bursting The Bubble

Merchants' trading volumes and revenue are still too inflated.

In the post-Enron world, many continue to question the legitimacy of the practice of inflating revenues through the trading business to bolster the company's financial picture.

The Great Canadian Gas Race

Northern gas rush proves timely for power generators.

America’s insatiable demand for clean burning power generated in newly minted natural gas-fired power plants has caused a massive Canada-wide hunt for new gas resources, and a search for how to get it across the border.

Indecent Disclosure?

Most pan FERC NOPR, but gas association eyes FERC role.

Citing overlap with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the power industry has largely panned FERC’s proposals to require greater disclosure on financial instruments and derivatives.