Energy Procurement Blog

We have seen a lot of hype regarding the direction of Natural Gas prices in the United States.  The range of predictions is across the board.  Some believe that lower prices are here to stay awhile, while others are predicting 4-5 dollar gas by the end of the year.  This blog contains only the facts to consider.  It does not offer any conjecture on where the prices are headed - just the facts!

While cleaning up my old blogs, I came across my blog from August 29, 2011 where I asked if this was the time to buy. We have records going back for years showing how September typically offers the lowest prices in natural gas. Easy to understand why - the hot summer is behind us and the winter is an unknown.

Who would have known that this winter was going to be so unseasonably warm across the country! Looking back at the NYMEX last day settle for September...

On December 9, 2011, the American Public Power Association (APPA) filed comments to FERC urging them to work with the EPA to provide the electric power industry with sufficient time to comply with the rules set out in CSAPR. This filing was a follow-up to a November 30th FERC reliability technical conference on the impacts of various EPA regulations on coal-fired capacity in the United States. The APPA believes the EPA should grant the electric power sector, particularly public power utilities, additional compliance time beyond the standard three years provided under the Clean Air Act...

We blog to provide you the energy data and market intelligence that helps you make your energy procurement decisions. This week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) launched a new web-based report called the Electricity Monthly Update, replacing the Monthly Flash Estimates for Electric Power Data. This new product introduces a feature story, interactive graphics, a new presentation flow, and new electricity industry data sources...

Do competitive markets work? It seems like we need to justify the deregulation of energy markets everyday! If you ask our clients, who have been seeing year over year savings due to energy deregulation throughout North America, the answer would have to be an outstanding YES!

Leila Vespoli, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of FirstEnergy Corp., recently spoke to the Ohio House of Representatives Public Utilities Committee on this issue...

If you are in a deregulated state (click here for map of deregulated states) and consume an above average volume of energy, you HAVE BEEN CALLED by either a third party supplier or broker. In fact, you have probably been called MANY TIMES, maybe even by us! That is because deregulation has opened up a new industry geared at helping consumers understand the complexity of the market and make the right decisions...

Reverse auctions are seen as providing a new tool for companies that will help them shave expenses and better document their procurement transactions. If I were a procurement professional, I'm sure I would like reverse auctions because:

• It cuts time and costs of both the product and the process (savings 5 to 15%)
• Companies focus on lowest cost and best value supply relationships; eliminates bias and opens bidding to new suppliers
• Transaction information is standardized, organized, time-stamped and trackable; provides an ability to confirm pricing and leverage previous agreements...