Genscape Adds Barge Data to its
Coal Transport Report
New Data Set Rounds Out Picture of Coal Shipments in the US
NEW YORK, New York, October 2 -- Genscape Inc., the
nation’s first and only supplier of real-time power plant output
and transmission status information has enhanced its offering of coal
transportation information by adding shipments by barge to its Coal Transport
Report.
Coal-fired generation accounts for 50% of all electricity produced in
the United States, and the amount and type of coal shipped have a pronounced
effect on the price movements of other fuels such as natural gas and oil.
The Genscape Weekly Coal Transport Report now provides detailed insight
into shipments by rail and barge. The barge data is derived from US Army
Corps of Engineers daily reports on vessel sailings on the Allegheny,
Arkansas, Cumberland, Green, Illinois, Kanawha, Mississippi, Monongahela,
Ohio and Tennessee rivers.
In addition to completing the picture of coal shipments, the new data
is being used to improve the accuracy of Genscape’s Weekly Coal
Stock Report. The level of coal inventories is a key indicator for future
energy price direction.
“Energy traders have been focused on the increasing competition
between gas and coal this year” says Abudi Zein, Senior VP, Genscape
Data Resources. “The details of coal fundamentals are a key element
in modeling and predicting the interplay between coal and gas.”
“We are getting a lot of interest from across the energy trading
spectrum in our coal data”, said Mike McAuliffe, Genscape’s
Vice President of Sales & Marketing, “and that is why we keep
pushing for additions and enhancements.” More equity and debt analysts
with a focus on the energy sector are also showing more interest in this
data, McAuliffe noted.
For More Information: Michael McAuliffe, VP of Sales & Marketing
(502) 583-4315.
Genscape Launches Italian and Czech
Republic Services
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, July 31 -- Genscape, the
company that pioneered real-time European power plant and transmission
monitoring, today announces the addition of 2 more countries to their
network: Italy and the Czech Republic.
Genscape already monitors power plants and cross-border connections in
Germany, France, & Benelux. From August 1, Genscape will initially
cover 12 units (power plants and interconnections) in Northern Italy.
The service for the Czech Republic will be released on September 1, starting
with 13 units.
"The market demands for more transparency are ever-increasing and
Genscape is providing it;" says Adam Hooper Director Sales, Europe;
"we have a unique service which has been expanding over the last
2 years - with these additional countries, Genscape's information really
makes a difference for our clients."
The company plans further expansion of its services, with coverage of
Spain, Switzerland, Poland and Austria now under review.
Genscape was founded in the U.S. in 1999 and entered Europe in 2003.
With more than 800 monitors installed around power plants and interconnections,
Genscape delivers unique real-time information, daily reports and historical
data on over 140 key power plants across Germany, France, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Italy and the Czech Republic.
For further information please contact Madelon Fiekert: +31 20 524 4080
Louisville, KY, Thursday June 22, 2006 - DMG Information (DMGI),
the information publishing division of DMGT, has reached agreement to
acquire Genscape, Inc., the provider of real-time energy generation and
transmission information to the energy trading markets in North America
and Europe.
The transaction is conditional upon clearance by the U.S. anti-trust authorities.
The initial consideration will be US$130 million (£73 million),
payable in cash, with
additional payments up to a maximum of US$66 million (£37 million)
payable between 2008
and 2011 based on future financial performance.
Genscape, which is based in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. has grown strongly
since it started
offering services in 2001 to international energy trading markets which
have themselves
expanded rapidly as a consequence of deregulation over the last several
years. Genscape
currently has over 130 customers, including utilities, investment banks,
energy traders and
hedge funds providing them with critical, real-time energy generation
and transmission
information utilizing proprietary technology to generate data about power
plant usage and
supply availability.
In the most recent financial year to December 31, 2005, Genscape’s
revenues increased by 76% to US$13 million (£7 million) and at that
date the company had net assets of US$11 million (£6 million). We
expect the transaction to be earnings enhancing from the date of acquisition.
The acquisition is consistent with DMGI’s strategy of investing
in high growth businesses that offer mission critical information and
analytics to niche markets.
Enquiries to:
Peter Williams Finance Director, DMGT 020 7938-6631
Paul Sykes Chief Financial Officer, DMGI 001 203 973-2940
Andrew Honnor Tulchan Communications, 020 7353-4200
Daily Mail and General Trust plc
Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street,
London, W8 5TT
Tel 020 7938 6000
Fax 020 7938 4626 www.dmgt.co.uk
Genscape Announces Launch of the Weekly Coal Stock Change Report
The Third Offering in the Genscape Suite of Weekly Coal Reports
Louisville, KY, Tuesday May 10, 2006 – Genscape
Inc., the nation’s first and only supplier of real-time power plant
output and transmission status information has recently launched a weekly
report tracking changes in the coal inventory held by power plants.
The Genscape Weekly Coal Stock Change Report addresses a key information
need in energy markets, answering the question about the amount of coal
held in reserve by power generators. The coal stock change report relies
on proprietary real-time information that Genscape gathers on coal burn
and coal deliveries to arrive at the change in stockpiles.
The Weekly Genscape Coal Burn Report, published since 2004, has shown
pinpoint accuracy (within 2% of the EIA coal burn figures) in estimating
coal consumption in the power sector. The Weekly Genscape Coal Transport
Report delivers weekly updates on the amount of coal shipped by rail in
the country, and includes detailed shipment information by mine and plant,
and also sums up the figures by region and coal basin.
The combination of these two data inputs in a stock pile model allows
Genscape to deliver insights into coal stock changes on a weekly basis.
“The energy market is increasingly focused on the fundamentals
of coal-fired generation” says Abudi Zein, Senior VP, Genscape Data
Resources, “as strained logistics and just-in-time inventory management
have created the potential for disruptions that can quickly ripple through
the entire energy complex”.
“Interest in all aspects of the Coal Market (supply, burn, delivery
capabilities and constraints) is at an all time high”, said Mike
McAuliffe, Genscape’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing, “and
this report will fill an information gap on the U.S. coal complex which
only Genscape is able to provide”. McAuliffe also noted that, in
addition to the traditional coal and power users of the Genscape coal
information, other subscribers include natural gas traders, fundamental
and technical energy analysts, and investors in energy equity and debt
securities.
For More Information: Michael McAuliffe, VP of Sales & Marketing (502)
583-4315.
Washington, DC, January 9, 2006 - The largest US utilities
continued to cut their sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions in
2005 while allowance prices generally went up, according to a new report
by energy information firm Genscape.
Genscape concludes in its Special Emissions Report for 2005,
released Jan 6, that SO2 and NOX dropped at power plants it
monitors by 1% and 11%, respectively.
Of the 50 companies cited in the report, Genscape
concludes that TransAlta — a company that also runs plants in
Canada and Mexico — scored the single biggest drop in SO2
with a 38% decline from 7,052st to 4,403st.
Other large SO2 drops were seen by UniSource (27%),
Northeast Utilities (21%) and Salt River Project (19%).
Much larger NOX reductions occurred with Santee Cooper
cutting its emissions by a whopping 69% from 10,526st in 2004
to 3,311st in 2005, according to Genscape.
FPL Group reduced its NOX by 61 % and Southern Company
cut its emissions by 55%, the report states.
Southern and other large utilities did not fare as well with
SO2. Southern saw a 10% rise in SO2 to 1.1-mil st. TXU Corp’s
SO2 rose 11% and Westar Energy’s climbed 13%. NiSource’s SO2
output increased by 22% and Hoosier Energy Inc in Indiana
boosted its SO2 releases by 31%.
While the overall drop in emissions is the result of continuing emissions
control installations at power plants, the Genscape report concludes that
uncertainty about the effectiveness of some of those controls is affecting
allowance prices.
“On the face of it, there nothing to justify the enormous increase
in [SO2] prices in 2005,” the report says. That’s because
a lot of the 2005 buyers have unused or “banked” allowances.
The price of spot SO2 on Friday ($1,540/st) was roughly double of what
it was in September 2005.
“The allowance buying may be panic or it may be an insurance premium
against failing to meet required targets. If the [emissions control] installation
process goes smoothly, [SO2] prices will collapse,” the report says.
Power companies must cut their SO2 and NOX an average of 70% below current
levels by 2015 under a new emissions trading rule issued by the US Environmental
Protection Agency in March, 2005.
NOX allowance prices in 2005 were less volatile than in the SO2 market,
the report observed. “Generally the industry seems sanguine about
meeting its NOX targets and prices did not follow the trajectory of SO2.”
A particularly large NOX bank and the pace of installing emissions controls,
selective catalytic reduction units, at power plants were the driving
factors, according to Genscape. “Certainly, the amount of surplus
[allowances] at the end of the [ozone] season and the prospect of more
reductions as more SCRs get installed justify the laid-back attitude.
Emissions in 2006 may not drop as sharply as in 2005, but drop they will.”
