Classroom Seminars

Learn “how it all fits together.” This in-depth, ambitious and fast-paced program provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry and the many industry topics listed below, but it also adds material to address the fundamentals of power marketing and how competitive physical, financial and heat rate power transactions are designed and executed at the wholesale and end-user retail levels--both within and outside of an ISO footprint. The basics of heat rates, spark spreads, tolling deals, generation optionality, and heat-rate-linked power transactions are also addressed.

Before addressing power marketing and transactions, this fast-paced seminar provides a comprehensive and clear explanation of the structure, function, and current status of today's U. S. electric power industry; who the industry players are, and why it is so difficult to develop new projects and get things done; the fundamentals of ISO day-ahead auctions, LMP, FTRs, CRRs, LSEs, SCs, QSEs and forward capacity markets; the basics of utility cost-of-service ratemaking, competitive customer choice retail markets, heat rates, electricity storage, solar, wind, distributed energy resources (“DER”), demand response and demand side management (“DSM”); and the reliability and economic “Duck Curve” type of issues raised by the integration of renewable energy, DER, and electricity storage resources into the existing power grid.

Each part of this complex industry will be explained piece-by-piece, and then the pieces will be integrated so that attendees will leave with an understanding of “how it all fits together.”

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1. The structure and function of the electric service system, its terminology and units, and the properties of electricity.
2. How the North American power grid is structured, how it operates and what the different types of electric generation are.
3. How control areas, balancing authorities, spinning reserves, AGC and security constrained environmental economic dispatch work.
4. Who the key players in the industry are, and why the industry is so difficult to restructure.
5. How cost-of-service utility ratemaking and open access deregulated markets work, and why open access retail electricity markets are finally developing in states that permit them.
6. What ISOs, RTOs, ITCs and merchant transmission companies are, and how they operate.
7. What the smart grid, demand side management (“DSM”), distributed energy resources (“DER”) and demand response (“DR”) are, and how these forms of “virtual generation” and renewable energy resources are disrupting the U.S. power industry.
8. The opportunities and challenges associated with wind, solar and other renewables.
9. How ISO Day-Ahead energy auction markets operate in PJM, New York, Texas, California, MISO and other ISO areas;
10. What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is and why it is important; how Day-Ahead and Real Time LMP is applied in the ISO markets, and why FTRs, TCCs, CRRs, TCRs , virtual bids (“Incs & Decs”) and convergence bidding are important to understand.
11. What capacity markets and resource adequacy are, and how this important issue relates to demand response, DER and demand side management and affects the integration of wind, solar and other renewables into the existing power grid.
12. An overview of Utility scale solar, rooftop solar, and net metering, and wind and other renewable energy resources.
13. What the Western Grid "Energy Imbalance Market" is, and why it is important to understand Community Choice Aggregators, the California "Duck Curve" and "FRAC-MOO."

1. The terminology, concepts and mechanics of physical, financial & heat rate power transactions.
2. How to transport physical power using OASIS and NERC tags, and how and why companies often move physical power financially causing it to ‘jump’ between regions.
3. The difference between physical, scheduled, and contract path power flows.
4. What "sellers choice" is, and how transaction "daisy chains" form at virtual trading hubs.
5. How and why physical power transactions are often “booked-out” and settled in cash, and why bilateral transactions in ISO markets are primarily financial.
6. How to execute wholesale and retail power marketing transactions both within and outside of an ISO area- including commonly used contract language and NERC tags; how to manage LMP, basis, delivery, volumetric, intermittency and operational risks; and why NITS, TAC, UCAP, resource adequacy and ancillary service charges need to be included.
7. How ICE & CME cash settled futures contacts, commodity swaps and FTRs/CRRs/TCCs can be used to hedge electricity price, basis and LMP spread risk.
8. The difference between operating, economic, market and negotiated heat rates, and what the terms spark spread, dark spread and bark spread mean.
9. What "tolling deals" are, and how the powerful technique of heat-rate-linked power transactions can be used.
10. How a natural gas-fired generating plant is a call option on the spark spread, what "optionality" means, and a simple rule to use to optimize the economics of a natural gas or coal-fired merchant generating plant.

• DAY 1
• The properties and terminology of electricity - current, power, var, voltage, etc.
• An overview of the electric service system, and how it works.
• The structure and function of the North American power grid.
• How control areas & balancing authorities operate, what spinning reserves are, and how the lights are kept on.
• The pros and cons of different sources of electric generation ( coal, natural gas, nuclear, renewables ), and how they work.
• How cost-of-service ratemaking and retail open access markets work
• Why open access retail electricity markets are finally developing in states that permit them.
• Who the various industry participants are and their roles.
• Why restructuring today's power markets is such a complicated task.
• The difference between ISOs, RTOs, ITCs and merchant transmission companies.
• Why it is so difficult to build new high voltage power lines.
• How ISO Day-Ahead energy energy auction markets operate in PJM, New York, Texas, California, MISO and other ISO areas.
• What locational marginal pricing (LMP) is, and why it is important.
• How Day-Ahead and Real Time LMP applied and managed in the ISO markets.
• Virtual bids (“Incs & Decs”) and convergence bidding and what their purpose is.
• Financial transmission rights (“FTRs”), congestion revenue rights (“CRRs”), TCCs, TCRs and TRs.
• Forward capacity markets, resource adequacy and generation reserve margins.
• DAY 2
• Wind, utility scale solar, rooftop solar, community solar, and the net metering debate.
• The opportunities, challenges and risks associated with wind, solar and other renewables.
• The smart grid, demand side management (“DSM”), distributed energy resources (“DER”) and demand response (“DR”), and why these assets are forms of “virtual” electric generation..
• How wind, solar, DER, DSM, demand response and conservation are disrupting the U.S. power industry
• The Western Grid "Energy Imbalance Market," The California "Duck Curve" and California’s “FRAC-MOO.”
• The fundamentals of bilateral power transactions—units, concepts and terminology.
• Common contract language used for bilateral power transactions.
• Point-to-Point Firm, Network Firm, and Non-Firm transmission service, and how to buy transmission contracts on OASIS.
• How to transport physical power using purchased transmission service and the purpose of NERC tags.
• What "seller’s choice” and “buyer’s choice” are, and how forward "daisy chains" form at virtual trading hubs.
• The difference between physical, scheduled and contract path power flows, and why power transactions have nothing to do with the flow of electrons.
• How trading floors and futures exchanges help commercial players manage risk.
• How and why physical power transactions are often “booked-out” and settled in cash.
• How any why companies often move physical power financially causing it to ‘jump’ between regions.
• An introduction to electricity cash settled futures, swaps, and CFDs, and how these products relate to ISO administered financial transmission rights (FTRs), congestion revenue rights (CRRs) and TCCs.
• Detailed examples of how to execute wholesale and retail power marketing transactions both within and outside of an ISO area-- including commonly used contract language & NERC tags; how to manage price, LMP, basis, delivery, volumetric, intermittency and operational risks; and the importance of including NITS, TAC, UCAP, resource adequacy and ancillary service charges.
• The difference between operating, economic, market and negotiated heat rates, and what the terms spark spread, dark spread and bark spread mean.
• What "tolling deals" are, and how the powerful technique of heat-rate-linked power transactions can be used.
• How a natural gas-fired generating plant is a call option on the spark spread, what "optionality" means, and a simple rule to use to optimize the economics of a natural gas or coal -fired merchant generating

John Adamiak is President and Founder of PGS Energy Training and an expert in energy derivatives and electric power markets. Mr. Adamiak is a well-known and highly effective seminar presenter who has over 20 years experience in the natural gas and electric power industries. His background includes 15 years as a seminar instructor, 9 years of energy transaction experience, and 6 years of strategic planning and venture capital activities. John's academic background includes an M.B.A. degree from Carnegie Mellon University.

Among those who will benefit from this seminar include energy and electric power executives; attorneys; government regulators; traders & trading support staff; marketing, sales, purchasing & risk management personnel; accountants & auditors; plant operators; engineers; and corporate planners. Types of companies that typically attend this program include energy producers and marketers; utilities; banks & financial houses; industrial companies; accounting, consulting & law firms; municipal utilities; government regulators and electric generators.

This fundamental level group live seminar has no prerequisites. No advance preparation is required before the seminar.

Basic level. This fundamental course begins with basic material and then proceeds to the intermediate level.

Group-live.

PGS seminars are known for their clear explanations and in-depth content. Register for a PGS class today, and join the over 10,000 energy professionals who have already attended one of PGS's proven programs. View Past Seminar Attendees

This two-day seminar will be held at the hotels listed below or can be conducted on-site at your facilities. The seminar will start promptly at 8:00 AM and will finish at 4:30 PM on the first day. On the second day, the seminar will resume at 8:00 AM and will finish at 3:00 PM. The program includes continental breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks on the first day. On the second day a continental breakfast, snack and coffee breaks are included. Attendees also receive a professionally produced seminar manual that can serve as a valuable office reference. Dress is casual for all seminars.

Register Today!. The price for this comprehensive two-day seminar is $2,395 (USD).

Early Bird Special:

Seminar Date(s) Cutoff Date Additional Savings New York - Nov 12 & 13 Oct 23, 2019 $100 per order Houston - Dec 10 & 11 Nov 20, 2019 $100 per order Hilton Head Island - Mar 25 & 26 Mar 5, 2020 $100 per order Brisbane (San Francisco) - May 5 & 6 Apr 15, 2020 $100 per order

• Additional attendees and government employees receive a 10% discount.
• Members of TOGA, AIPRO, INGAA or IOGA-NY receive a 15% discount. Please call (440) 853-1038.
• Sign up for 4 or more classroom seats during the same month and all attendees will receive a 20% total discount.
  (If you plan to register 4 or more classroom seats for the same seminar, but want attendees to pay by separate credit cards, register one party now and mention this fact in the "Comments" section of the registration form. We will manually subtract the 20% discount from the first registrant's seminar fee and will call you to obtain the credit cards and registration information for your other attendees in order to give them their 20% discount. If applicable the Early Bird discount of either $200 or $100 will be divided evenly between all participants.) Please call (440) 853-1038 for more information.
  Special pricing is available for groups of 5 or more. Please call Janice Ohmura at (440) 853-1038.

Payment is due prior to the start of the seminar by Visa, Master Card, American Express, Diners Club, or corporate check. Seminar fees will be charged to your credit card at the time of registration unless other arrangements have been made. Please make checks payable to "PGS Energy Training" 26 Teal Lane · Hilton Head Island, SC 29926. Cancellations can be made up to five (5) business days prior to the start of the seminar for a full refund. No refunds will be made thereafter, but a one year full seminar credit will be given toward future workshops upon receipt of $175 which will used to help offset the non-refundable food, beverage, manual and other expenses incurred by PGS. This one year seminar credit is good for any PGS Energy Training program except for seminars offered by PGS affiliate organizations. Colleague substitutions may be made at any time. If PGS needs to cancel a seminar due to instructor unavailability, lack of attendance or other unforeseen reason, you will be offered the choice of rescheduling for another seminar, a seminar credit, or a refund. For more information on PGS policies regarding administrative matters and complaint resolution, please contact our offices at (440) 853-1038.

This live group seminar is eligible for 14.5 CPE credits. Be aware that state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. As of January 1, 2002, sponsored learning activities are measured by program length, with one 50-minute period equal to one CPE credit. One-half CPE credit increments (equal to 25 minutes) are permitted after the first credit has been earned in a given learning activity. You may want to verify that the state board from which your participants will be receiving credit accept one-half credits.

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