*Please jump to 11:45 to go right to the Keynote Session.

The Canadian and global energy landscapes continue to evolve and challenge the commodity markets. Join Mr. Prusakowski as he shares insights on the domestic and global economic outlook for Canada, including developments in energy trade and foreign economies.

This session will begin at 12:15 PM MDT with an introduction from the Canadian Regional Education Committee Chair and the keynote will commence immediately afterwards at 12:30 PM MDT.

While all Power Purchase Agreements(PPAs) are different, they typically use common credit structures to secure the developer, hedge provider/offtaker, and fuel provider/tax equity investor. Fossil fuel and renewable PPAs employ different credit support structures and this presentation will provide an overview of both types of PPA for all of the interested parties to a power generation project and the associated PPA.

Learning Objective: Gain an understanding of the basic structure of Power Purchase Agreements, how they differ according to generation type, and different credit support structures that may be used in PPAs.

CLE approved for Texas. If you are seeking CLE credit, we encourage you to look into your specific state’s CLE requirements as Texas has a wide jurisdiction. If you are applying for CLE in New York, you can view the state-approved jurisdiction list here, as well as the individual state CLE application here. If you need any additional materials (i.e. slides, agendas, bio's, etc.) for your personal application, or have any questions about the course's accreditation status, please contact us at info@ieca.net.

About

Pursuant to the recent FERC RTO/ISO Credit Technical Conference, we will discuss the next steps and the perspectives of the energy industry and ISO representatives. This session will cover the following:

• A summary of the views and discussions at the technical conference.
• Do we see consensus in areas where work is needed to shore up credit support?
• Do we see interest (and value) in pushing for consistent rules and credit policies across the ISOs?
• What areas were clearly seen as requiring work or follow-up?
• What items were debated?
• What is the IECA’s role in driving follow-up activity?

Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the FERC RTO/ISO Credit Technical Conference.

About

The impact that COVID has inflicted upon bankruptcies in the U.S. is not what many expected at the outset of the pandemic when a widespread shutdown of the economy occurred. Although there are fewer bankruptcies than expected, those parties who have filed have moved even faster than before the pandemic, creating traps for the unwary. Most practitioners expect a wave of filings to occur once the government’s stimulus “sugar high” begins to wear off; in this session, we will discuss where those filings will come from, and how the pandemic will change the processing of such cases. We will also discuss how creditors can protect themselves in this emerging environment. These, and other topics, will be explored by a panel of bankruptcy and credit professionals during this fast-moving session.

CE: 1 hour CLE

Objectives

• Explore the many causes of bankruptcies filed during the COVID pandemic and learn how to protect yourself in this new emerging environment.

Q&A

Q: Can you give your perspective on recent Ch. 11 filings (Chesapeake for example) where FERC is insisting to have joint jurisdiction decision making powers on the rejection of pipeline control?

ME: This is still a developing issue as FERC has remained steadfast in its position that it maintains jurisdiction with respect to FERC regulated contracts irrespective of a Chapter 11 filing. In the wake of a bankruptcy filing, FERC has maintained that it has concurrent jurisdiction with the bankruptcy court in cases such as Chesapeake, Gulfport, Extraction Oil and Ultra Petroleum. FERC continues to issue orders with respect to its authority under the Natural Gas Act and the Federal Power Act based upon its position with respect to its jurisdiction. Cases are now in the Third and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeal and the positions taken by the relevant bankruptcy courts have not been entirely consistent, in some cases hedging their bets over what authority FERC has and what role they would play in the context of contract rejection under the Bankruptcy Code. In First Energy, the Sixth Circuit ruled that the Bankruptcy Court has the final word on contract rejection but that FERC should be consulted in determining the role that the public interest should play in that determination. Depending on how the other Courts of Appeal rule, the issue may very well wind up in the Supreme Court given FERC’s continued aggressive position. It doesn’t look like they will let go of this issue.

FL: I agree that this will likely end up with the Supreme Court. With that said, as a bankruptcy lawyer, the argument that PPAs are simply executory contracts which can be rejected thus creating an unsecured claim seems to have some merit.

Q: Did you experience difficulties to serve, given offices were shut down? Were courts willing to accept email notices?

ME: This has not been much of a problem given the ECF systems for filing on line in most bankruptcy courts. Ordinarily, if a party appears in a case they subject themselves to on line service through ECF. Email service has also been deemed acceptable.

FL: The pandemic has created a bit of a trap for creditors where mail service has occurred and the monitoring of mail has been spotty due to shut downs. Those not on ECF who get mail service alone run a greater risk of missing a deadline.

About

Mark will assess the economy’s prospects as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down. There is much to be optimistic about, including the unleashing of significant pent-up demand and substantial monetary and fiscal support, but the longer-term economic fallout from the pandemic will be considerable, and threats remain, including overvalued stock and housing markets, the prospects for higher inflation and interest rates, and government deficits and debt. He is a recognized expert on the global economy and is often interviewed by major news media outlets. Zandi is also a trusted advisor to policymakers and frequently testifies before Congress on a variety of economic issues.

Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the long-term economic fallout from the pandemic.

About

What happens when you prepare for a black swan event, complete your due diligence and everything still fails? What drives your credit and legal decisions from this point forward? How do you recover from the black swan event, when you thought you were prepared?

CE: 1 hour CLE

Objectives

• Understand and recognize key small red flags to avoid a future black swan event.

About

Beginning in its early days, the Biden administration signaled its desire to focus on climate change; but the details await. In this segment, we will survey the policy perspectives of the Biden administration on climate change and explore how certain proposed actions could affect renewable energy development and production. Issues will include:

• Carbon pricing and border adjustments
• SEC Enforcement Task Force focused on climate and ESG disclosures
• Renewable tax credits and other incentives
• Offshore wind incentives
• Technology neutral approaches to decarbonization
• Tax incentives for carbon capture and sequestration
• Recalculating the “Social Cost of Carbon” (SCC)
• FERC proposed pipeline policy modifications re: SCC of Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3
• New climate-neutral fuels - the hydrogen-ammonia economy for hard to decarbonize sectors
• “Blue” vs “Green” hydrogen and ammonia
• Electric vehicles – batteries, rare earths, and fuel cells
• Clean fuels for maritime and airlines
• RNG, biofuels, biodiesel, ethanol, and other clean fuels

CE: 1 hour CLE

Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the potential effects on renewable energy in regard to the Biden administration’s focus on climate change.

Please note: This video starts at :55 and you are welcome to skip ahead. 

Energy Trading Master Agreements 101 is an introduction to Energy Trading Master Agreements beginning with a history of energy trading, including derivatives trading and the deregulation of natural gas pipelines and power markets, and moving on to an overview and history of the main energy trading agreement for each commodity and legal and credit mechanics and concepts unique to energy trading.

Speaker: Christie Degard

CLE approved for Texas. If you are seeking CLE credit, we encourage you to look into your specific state’s CLE requirements as Texas has a wide jurisdiction. If you are applying for CLE in New York, you can view the state-approved jurisdiction list here, as well as the individual state CLE application here. If you need any additional materials (i.e. slides, agendas, bio's, etc.) for your personal application, or have any questions about the course's accreditation status, please contact us at info@ieca.net.

In September 2018, a Norwegian power market trader racked up losses he could not cover, leaving commodities companies who are part of the Nasdaq clearing house, and the exchange itself, to plug a 114 million euro ($133 million) hole in a contingency fund.

Join our European Webinar on Monday, April 12 at 3:00 p.m. BST/10:00 a.m. EDT (GMT+1), sponsored by C-RISK Software, as speaker Paul Kitching looks at the relationship between a central counterpart (CCP) and its Clearing Members and the clients of Clearing Members, the risks that a CCP is exposed to, and how a CCP manages those risks. Whist all CCP’s follow best practice, as laid out by IOSCO, each will apply their own set of rules and procedures; the Webinar will focus primarily on Nasdaq Clearing AB.

This webinar will cover:

• The September 2018 default
• Common categories of Membership
  • Relationship between Clearing Members (CMs) and the CCP
  • Relationship between clients of CMs and their CM and with the CCP
• The CCP performance guarantee: Who is covered?
• How the CCP manages its risk:
  • Membership criteria
  • Daily margining and initial margin
• What happens in the event of default?
  • Declaring a default
  • The close out process
  • Covering a shortfall: The “waterfall” explained
• Mutualising losses: The Member Default Fund
  • Trade-offs
  • Size of fund
  • Membership contribution