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Fuel Due Diligence

BSA's assignments as independent fuel consultant

BSA has conducted fuel planning, analysis, forecasting and due diligence assignments dealing with gas, fuel oil and power supply, transportation, delivery and pricing for more than 100 major independent power projects (IPP) and cogeneration plants, and a similar number of industrial, utility, commercial, and municipal clients and cooperatives.

Major power plant developers and generators

We have worked successfully with major international power plant developers and their lenders to prepare fuel supply, delivery and price reports, and review of dispatch model assumptions and strategic fuel plans for power projects on behalf of:

bulletCalpine
bulletCMS Energy
bulletEdison Mission Energy
bulletEl Paso Energy
bulletEnergy Initiatives, Inc.
bulletEnergy Management, Inc. (EMI)
bulletFletcher Challenge
bulletFPL Energy
bulletJones Capital
bulletKMR Power
bulletLG&E
bulletPanda Energy Corporation
bulletPG&E Generating
bulletSithe Energies, Inc.
bulletSouthern Energy International (SEI)
bulletTractebel Power

Major lenders

In some of these assignments, we have worked with major institutions active in project finance, including the following lead banks and bond agents:

bulletBNP Paribas
bulletBarclays Bank PLC
bulletCIBC
bulletChase Morgan
bulletCiticorp
bulletCoBank
bulletCS First Boston
bulletDeutsche Bank AG
bulletThe Fortis Group
bulletThe Fuji Bank, Limited
bulletGE Capital
bulletGoldman, Sachs
bulletHelaba
bulletHSBC
bulletHypo Vereinsbank
bulletKBC Bank
bulletLong-Term Credit Bank of Japan (LTCB)
bulletMellon Bank
bulletMitsubishi Trust
bulletNatWest
bulletNippon Credit Bank
bulletRoyal Bank of Scotland (RBS)
bulletSanwa Bank, Ltd.
bulletSmith Barney/Citigroup
bulletSumitomo Bank
bulletTIAA-CREF
bulletTrust Company of the West (TCW)
bulletUnion Bank of Switzerland (UBS).

Major industrial and commercial end-users

Examples of industrial and commercial clients for whom BSA has prepared independent fuel studies and reviews include:

bulletAir Products and Chemicals
bulletBear Island Paper Co.
bulletCity of Tallahassee
bulletDexter Corporation
bulletEnergyUnited
bulletExxon Chemical
bulletITT/Sheraton
bulletGeneral Mills
bulletJCC (Rockville, MD)
bulletJohns Hopkins APL
bulletKaiser Aluminum
bulletKemira Paint
bulletLukens Steel
bulletMitsui Trust
bulletPhillip Morris
bulletRaytheon
bulletSears Roebuck
bulletSiemens
bulletStanford University
bulletUniversity of Rochester
bulletUS Army (20 installations)
bulletWells Rural Electric Co-op
bulletWellesley College
bulletWestinghouse

Scope of assignment issues

As independent fuel consultants, BSA has assessed and resolved a wide range of fuel issues and risks of gas and oil supply, transportation, storage, deliveries, contract pricing and price forecasting. Our assignments have typically included:

bulletEvaluation of gas suppliers and supply contracts, strength of companies and their fuel warranties, and key regulatory hurdles such as gas import and export permits, producing licenses, and environmental permits
 
bulletAnalysis of gas transportation/delivery arrangements, regulatory issues, and timing, including firm and interruptible transportation, storage, and capacity expansions, including scheduling of pipeline construction and operations, gas dispatching in synch with power dispatch, weather risks, and the efficacy of capacity releases
 
bulletPreparation of delivered gas cost projections over the life of the project, cost ranges, and "what-if" scenarios involving differing energy market forecasts, rolled-in versus incremental pipeline and distributor rates, varying construction scenarios, and market value risks
 
bulletDevelopment of power plant dispatch analysis indicating likely projected power plant sequencing under differing assumptions as to regional system growth, demand, fuel prices, weather, construction timing and commercial mechanisms.
 
bulletAnalysis of key power systems and fueling assumptions and methods employed in dispatch models underlying projected competitiveness, including gas, oil and electricity price projections, pricing models, and competing power projects, and development of alternative scenarios
 
bulletDevelopment and assessment of interim gas supply, transportation, and delivery plans aimed at alleviating risks of timing mismatches between completion of new power plants versus gas pipeline and delivery systems, including assessing regional fuel oil delivery and storage capability, capacity risks on existing gas systems, and local spot markets
 
bulletAssessment of fuel oil arrangements, including on-site and back-up storage, local area deliveries, cost add-ons, and seasonal planning for reliable deliveries, including communicating with regional suppliers, storage providers, terminals, jobbers, and distributors

Fuel price forecasting

BSA has provided independent fuel price projections in an increasing array of assignments in conjunction with power project development and finance.  Recently, we provided gas and oil price forecasts in the New England, New York Power Pool, PJM, Entergy and ERCOT regions.

A listing of the more than 100 major power projects for which BSA has furnished independent fuel consulting services is available on request.


 

 

Benjamin Schlesinger and Associates, LLC
The Bethesda Gateway
7201 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 740
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 951-7266
Fax (301) 951-3381