Industry
Gas and Electric Business Understanding
Get a "big picture" perspective of both the natural gas and electric industries
In this interactive two-day seminar you will gain a comprehensive understanding of the business of natural gas and electricity, the relationship between the two industries, how you and your company fit into the big picture and the trends that will change the industries as you progress in your career. If you are new to these industries, or even a veteran wanting more details on how all the pieces fit together, Gas and Electric Business Understanding will help you connect the dots to make sense out of these complex and exciting industries.
You will learn about customers and how their needs are served, sources of natural gas and types of electric generation, the physical systems and how they are operated, why and how the industries are regulated and how restructuring of the industries has affected the marketplace, what types of risks energy companies encounter and how they mitigate them, how markets work and prices are set, how the industries are tightly related to each other while also being competitors, and much more.
This course was designed with your participation in mind! Questions and discussion among attendees are highly encouraged. And you will participate in a number of individual and group exercises that will give you a real-world perspective of the energy business. You will leave this information-packed seminar with relevant and current information that can be applied immediately to your work!
Prerequisites: No prerequisites or advance preparation is required.
Contact us at 866-765-5432 or 'info' for more information.
No dates are currently scheduled for this seminar. Please Contact Us for more information.
Is Gas and Electric Business Understanding the right seminar for me?
If a big picture perspective of the natural gas and electric business could help you succeed in your job, this seminar is for you! Whether you are new to the job or an industry veteran, you will benefit from the comprehensive industry overview you will receive. While anyone with a connection to the gas and/or electric business should consider this fundamental seminar, here are the types of employees who have found this class especially helpful to their continued success in the industry:
- New hires: anyone new to the industry, whether you are working for a utility, transmission owner, merchant generator, gas or electric marketing company, pipeline, gas production company, renewable energy company, startup, or any company providing services to the industry
- Employees with industry experience in one or two departments who are now moving into management
- Technical employees such as system operators, engineers and Information Technology professionals who need to understand how the businesses of natural gas and electricity actually work
- Technical employees who are moving into positions that support business or regulatory strategies
- Regulatory employees who need to understand the real-world challenges of gas and electric market participants
- Accounting professionals who need a solid foundation in how the gas and electricity business works
- Professionals such as attorneys, finance, PR, communications, etc. who are working for an industry participant or providing services to the energy industry
- Virtually any industry employee with limited experience on the business side of the gas and/or electric industries
How will Gas and Electric Business Understanding help me?
If you are new to the energy business, this seminar will help you gain a big picture perspective of the industry you’ve just joined. The gas and electric industries are unlike any other industry you may have experienced in the past. The business acumen you will receive in this class will help you to understand the basics of each industry as well as the connections between the two. And that broad foundation of knowledge will help you to become a more active and productive participant of your company’s team. Many participants tell us that what they learned in two days could have taken years in on-the-job training! Think of this class as a big jump-start to your career in the energy business.
If you are an industry veteran, you probably know that it’s common for employees to gain expertise in their area of work (accounting is a great example), yet after years on the job have very little idea how what they do affects the company outside their department, how their actions affect their company’s regulatory strategies, or how their decisions affect customers and other market participants. Gas and Electric Business Understanding was designed to not only provide the big picture perspective you are missing, but also to help you understand how what you do affects the rest of the business and to provide you with the overall knowledge needed to interact effectively with various stakeholders. Whether it’s getting a grip on industry acronyms or finally understanding how a utility, transco or pipeline makes money, this knowledge will make you more successful in communicating with your colleagues and prepare you for further career advancement.
In just two information-packed days, this dynamic course will provide you with a solid understanding of:
- A big picture perspective of how the energy business operates
- The various types of customers, how they use gas and electricity, their specific needs, and how services are designed to meet them
- Sources of natural gas in North America
- How natural gas is discovered, produced, gathered, and processed. And then how it travels through the transmission and distribution systems to a customer site
- How electricity is generated and then travels on the transmission and distribution systems to end-use customers
- How gas and electric transmission and distribution systems are operated and scheduled
- Which segments of the industry are regulated and why, and how the regulatory process really works
- How utility, transco and pipeline rates are determined and how the rate case process affects the profitability of utilities, their customers, and other market participants
- How restructuring has changed the business and what to look for in the future
- Who the key industry participants are and the strategies they employ to be successful
- How physical and financial strategies are used to make money and manage risk
- The key forces likely to drive future evolution in the energy business
Introduction
- What is natural gas and how does it work?
- What is electricity and how does it work?
- How the U.S. consumes energy
- Why natural gas and electricity are essential to our society
- How the two industries are related as competitor and key fuel supplier
- Gas and electric units
Gas Customers
- Types of gas customers
- Number of gas customers and usage by type
- How different customers use natural gas
- Customer needs and wants
- Services available to gas customers under bundled and unbundled market structures
The Physical Gas System and Delivery Chain
- Sources of U.S. gas supply
- North American basins and production/reserves
- The physical delivery systems including gathering, processing, pipelines, hubs, storage, and distribution systems
- Upstream, midstream and downstream participants
- How a pipeline system is operated
- Pipeline scheduling
- Balancing, OFOs and EFOs
Regulation and Deregulation
- Gas market evolution (regulation, deregulation, commoditization, value-added services)
- What does natural gas regulation do and why regulate the industry?
- Who regulates what
- The federal and state regulatory compacts
- Types of regulatory proceedings
- How the regulatory process works
- How cost-of-service rates are set
- Decoupling
- Incentive ratemaking
- When are market-based rates allowed
- What is restructuring (deregulation) and what does it change?
- Gas supply choice in the U.S. (by customer group)
Gas Markets
- Participants in the delivery chain (upstream, midstream, downstream)
- Natural gas supply market structure
- How gas flows through the value chain
- Pricing
- Key factors affecting price
- The outlook for future supply
- Risk exposures in the energy business
- Price volatility
- Physical and financial tools for risk management
Electric Customers
- Types of electric customers
- Number of electric customers and usage by type
- How different customers use natural gas
- Daily and monthly load shapes
- Customer service options under bundled and unbundled markets
The Physical Electrical System and Delivery Chain
- A big picture look at the electrical physical system
- U.S. generation capacity and output by fuel type
- Characteristics of generation (capital costs, variable costs, levelized costs)
- Demand side management
- A typical generation dispatch stack
- Integrated resource planning
- The transmission system (components and characteristics)
- The North American power grids
- The distribution system (components and characteristics)
- Cost and reliability by segment
- System operators
- Characteristics of power systems
- The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) regions
- How scheduling decisions are made
- A description of the various ancillary services
- How operators balance the system in real time
- The blackout of 2003
Regulation & Deregulation
- How does electric regulation differ from gas regulation?
- Who regulates what?
- Electric market restructuring
- Four idealized electric market structures (vertically-integrated monopoly utility, single buyer with competitive generation, wholesale/retail competition, complete retail competition)
- RTOs and ISOs
- What are trading arrangements?
- Electric supply choice, state-by-state
Electric Market Evolution
- The services sold in electric markets
- How capacity, ancillary services and energy are purchased under different market models
- Locational marginal pricing
- Financial transmission rights
- How market participants manage an energy portfolio and the risks they face
- Supply and demand in various U.S. markets
- Risk exposures in the energy business
- Daily and hourly electric price volatility
- Physical and financial tools for risk management
The Future
- Evolution of the gas and electric markets, technology and regulation
- The smart grid
- The smart house
- The aging workforce
"Basics in the business were methodically and succinctly presented and helpful to one new to the business."
Darrell W.
Chesapeake Utilities Corporation
"Global picture for the two businesses. All the key elements were provided on the regulation, business and technical aspects. Excellent general introduction for understanding these complex businesses."
JF Coffinier
"The most valuable aspect of the class was everything! There was an open floor for all questions at any time."
Alicia J
Dominion Resources Services Inc.
"A useful overview of the gas and electricity business. I'll recommend to my manager that all analysts attend this class in the future."
Christina R.
CoBank
"Loved the real world application and stories."
Andrea G.
PG&E
"Every new person in the industry should be required to take this class. Excellent course!"
Allison M.
PSNH
"Exercises were on point to ensure understanding of concepts, and short enough to maintain engagement - perfect pace."
Jodi F
DTE Energy
Group discount
Attend this seminar with your workgroup and you can save up to 25%. For every three people from the same company who attend this course, the fourth is free!
Networking reception
In addition to all you will learn, this seminar is also a great networking opportunity. We offer a hosted reception the first night of your course, which gives you the opportunity to continue networking with colleagues in a casual and comfortable environment. This is a great opportunity to develop valuable new relationships with peers in other companies and agencies.
Course length
Two days
Prerequisites
No prerequisites or advance preparation is required.
Seminar times
This seminar begins at 8:30 each day, and ends at 5:00 the first day and 4:00 the second day. But feel free to come early to enjoy complimentary breakfast, ask questions of your instructor and network with other class participants.
Registration fee
$1,390 (save $200 - only $1,190 if paid three weeks prior to seminar). This fee includes continental breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon breaks. The fee also includes course materials and a networking reception the first night.
Cancellation policy
All class sizes are limited and your place in class is held exclusively for you. Registrations cancelled two weeks or more prior to the seminar date will receive a full refund minus a 10% administrative fee or a credit for 100% of the registration fee good towards any other Enerdynamics product. Registrations cancelled with less than two weeks notice but more than two days notice will receive a credit for 100% of the registration fee good towards any other Enerdynamics product. Registrations cancelled with less than two days notice are not eligible for refund or credit. Substitutions may be made at any time and without additional cost.
Contact us at 866-765-5432 or 'info' for more information.
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CPE credits? Absolutely!
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Bring this seminar onsite
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No risk to you!
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