July 29, 2009

With carbon cap-and-trade legislation wending its way through Congress in the early part of the year, many electric power companies were taking a wait-and-see attitude toward new plant construction. And wait. And wait.

That doesn't tell the whole story, though, as many producers are doing more than wait -- they are canceling coal plants outright. According to the Edison Electric Institute, at least nine coal plants representing 6,650 megawatts have been canceled by May 2009, joining 24 plants that were scuttled in 2008.

July 27, 2009

Times are tough inside utility boardrooms. A biting recession and volatile energy prices are creating a backlash among the various constituencies, forcing those members to generally stifle pay raises and especially those for top managers.

Executives must be concerned about the messages that their compensation deals are sending to employees and shareholders. It's particularly true in a difficult economy when companies are cutting expenses and reducing staff. Workers don't mind seeing their chief executives get rewarded for good work. But they, too, want to be compensated if they deliver results. Now, though, it is time to hunker down so as to emerge lean and mean when the coast is clear.

July 08, 2009 
 
On Bernard Madoff's day of reckoning, he apologized to those he hurt. But he has yet to cooperate with federal authorities or to tell his victims where the billions he stole went.

Throughout history, scandals have been commonplace. This one is estimated to be at least $13 billion and has entrapped individual investors, banks and charities, all of whom placed their trust in a man with "impeccable credentials." Madoff's penalty, 150 years in a federal penitentiary, is meant to be a warning to future hucksters to back off. The sad reality, though, is that such a Ponzi scheme will invariably occur again and again and that investors must do more of the due diligence up front to avoid getting burned.

July 01, 2009

It's more than a milestone. It's a clear message to the American people. By passing a comprehensive energy bill that includes carbon caps out of the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 219 to 212, President Obama has a crossed a threshold never achieved before -- one that sets out to change American energy policy.

For the last several years such a concept has languished in the halls of Congress and often outside the doors of those most in tune with environmental organizations. That's why the president can boast a victory even if the measure were to stall in the U.S. Senate.

June 22, 2009

It's been a long-lasting friendship. And President Obama is trying to cultivate this country's relationship with Brazil, Latin America's biggest economy. The two countries are major trading partners that have given American businesses access to lucrative energy markets while providing Brazil with foreign capital and technology.

During the 1990s, Brazil undertook several measures to deregulate its energy economy. And while some of those efforts have been scaled back, the country has remained largely friendly to private companies seeking to invest there. If Brazil is to meet its expected future needs for energy that are estimated to double in 30 years, it must attract even more investment. Its petroleum sector alone will need $100 billion over the next 10 years.