Another year with the CCFAS

Starting another fabulous year as a Board member of the Calgary CFA Society. I was recently confirmed as a Board member for the 2011-2012 year.

I will be responsible for building Strategic Relationships and managing the dialogue with these parties and the CCFAS.

RK

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogging from the iPhone

Just set up blogging from my iPhone!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUCHA)

I have been revisiting the Public Utility Holding Company Act (PUCHA) legislation in the US. PUCHA was put into effect in 1935 as part of Roosevelt's New Deal program. During that period 55utilities went bankrupt due to risky investments they owned.

PUHCA was enacted to mitigate the risk of public utilities investing in risky assets and then increasing its rates on its regulated arms to cushion the risk of the risky assets in the sister subsidiaries.

In the mid 1990s, the M&A boom in the US on the power side was over-shadowed by PUCHA regulation. There were numerous constraints that prevented mergers from occurring due to the reporting obligations associated with PUHCA.

Then in 1978 and 1992 Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act and EPAct were enacted to create special exemptions from PUHCA to allow more private capital to enter the market. The PURPA legislation created the "Qualifiying Facility" ("QF") which were effectively cogeneration plants that received regulatory relief and long term contracts with utilities. EPAct created the "Exempt Wholesale Generator ("EWG") which was effectively a non-regulated generating asset.

PUHCA was repealed in 2005 and further relaxed its constraints by allowing more providers of capital to enter the market.

Regards

RK

Back in the Saddle Again

It has been ages since I worked out. I just picked up a new iPhone and decided I would take advantage of the work-out apps and use it in conjunction with my proximity to the stairs on the north side of Memorial Drive (going up to Crescent Heights).

I am doing circuits on the stairs at lunch. I am complementing this with the 100 Push-Ups app which sets up a push-up regime for me daily. Up the stairs then sit-ups. Down the stairs then push-ups.

Leg feel like spaghetti!

Regards


RK

BlackBerry ByeBye

I can honestly say that I would trade in my blackberry today given the poor reception on Bell (dropped calls, and slow internet) and the poor apps. I keep threatning to buy an iPhone. Not sure who I am threatning - but I know my blackberry falls short on various levels.

I was hooked on the iPhone after playing "Angry Birds". That and the fact that I can buy an app that lets me plug my electric guitar into my phone says its all. I am sure I can come up with some relevant business reasons too. But given that I am paying for it, I will do it just to play "Angry Birds".

RK

Been a busy 12 months

If I said it has been a busy 12 months would you believe me? Well it has. I stated this blog for professional reasons and then stopped updating it. Poor form on my part.

I spent the better part of last year planning a Carbon Finance conference on behalf of the Calgary CFA Society (CCFAS). This event took two years to plan and we successfully hosted he event in October of 2010. We had over 30 speakers from North America. The event was a success for me personally and also for the CCFAS. I worked with both the CCFAS and Calgary Economic Development to both develop and deliver the event on budget and on time.

At that same time, I started a new job at Enbridge in the Green Energy group. My focus is on gas-fired generation opportunities in North America. I spent a better part of the year looking at various investment opportunities in Canada and the US. This included single asset auctions to multi-asset auctions, to bilateral discussions with potential owners. Things picked up substantially in Q4 as I was involved in the formation of the JV/Partnership opportunity with an Asian infrastructure investor to bid on a unique power asset in North America. I spent the last part of the year the first two months of this year working through the bid and partnership agreements. Stay tuned on this front.

I also raised $17k for the CCFAS Forecast Dinner Event that is held once a year in Calgary.

I was recently asked to join the CCFAS Board and am now a CCFAS Board member. I am in charge of Strategic Partnerships. This will prove to be an exciting area as the CCFAS is putting together a 5-year plan and has a desire to explore mutually beneficial partnerships with like-minded entities moving forward. The CCFAS strategy session is next week and I will be presenting options to the Board.

I will also be providing support to the CCFAS Board in their Bi-annual Wealth Management conference here in Calgary. I will likely be supporting the sponsorship drive for this event and will be having a kick-off meeting next week with my CCFAS colleagues who are promoting the event.


RK

Todays Workout with Lincoln Reeves

Today;s workout was an absolute killer. This kind of workout will either make you vomit, cry, or just make you delirious during the routine. What made it doable was the coaching from Lincoln and the two other people who were doing it with me.

2 Sets doing 35 reps and 15 reps for ALL Groups. Do one group at a time.
First Group
-Jumping Chin-ups
-Dead lifts @ 135lbs
-Push ups

Second Group
- Push Press using two 35lb dumbbells (Raise both dumbells above head with a little jump)
- Swing using 1 35lb dumbbell (squat and swing dumbbell up over your head by standing)
- Squat using 135lbs

Third Group
-Hanging leg lifts (needed to use chalk on my hands)
-Walking dumbbell lunges (almost could not do these)
-Thrusters using 2 35lb dumbbells (squat and raise both dumbbells above head by standing)

50 Burpees (at his point the thought of doing a single Burpee made me crazy!)

RK