Balancing Pool Adopts SAS BookRunner For Energy Trading

Alberta Energy Firm Seeks Accelerated Risk Quantification, Reporting

CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - Balancing Pool, which is the beneficial owner of 8 GWh of electrical energy related to power purchase arrangements in Alberta's electricity market, has chosen RiskAdvisory's SAS BookRunner v12 solution to provide trade capture and advanced risk management analytics. RiskAdvisory is the Commodity Trading and Risk Management (CTRM) software division of business analytics leader SAS.

Balancing Pool will use BookRunner in its daily processes from deal capture to settlement. "We have managed very well with spreadsheets over the years, but we believe SAS will help us achieve additional levels of detail, especially as we work towards better quantifying our risk profile," said Greg Wagner, Assets and Liabilities Manager, Balancing Pool. "The trade capture data provided by BookRunner should allow us to enhance our internal processes and controls for all the essential functions of financial transaction management."

Calgary-based RiskAdvisory's industry knowledge was also regarded as an asset. "It became evident during the selection process that RiskAdvisory executives knew the Alberta power market very well and could add value to our efforts," Wagner said.

The deal marks the latest in a series of high-profile Canadian power market customers who have adopted SAS CTRM solutions to provide business analytics, data aggregation and corporate risk management. RiskAdvisory helps customers achieve their goals through an Enterprise Commodity Risk Aggregation and Analytics (ECRAA) approach. This helps customers quickly consolidate disparate data from internal and external sources into a central repository, reducing errors, maintaining data integrity and applying powerful risk analytics that enhance real-time simulations and generation of dashboards and reports.

Enabled through the purpose-built CTRM solution BookRunner, ECRAA allows Balancing Pool to rapidly integrate existing systems, produce high-value reports and produce advanced analytics.

"Balancing Pool has affirmed BookRunner's market-leading advanced analytics as the right solution to address their needs for a substantial percentage of the Alberta power market," according to Karen Joslyn, RiskAdvisory's General Manager. "We're pleased to welcome them on board."

About RiskAdvisory, a Division of SAS

RiskAdvisory, a division of SAS, provides the next generation of commodity trading and risk management solutions through Enterprise Commodity Risk Aggregation and Analytics (ECRAA). Its SAS BookRunner suite helps energy, financial services, manufacturing and other industries mitigate risk and optimize business value in volatile markets. RiskAdvisory is also a leader in compliance software solutions that enable firms to streamline their response to Dodd-Frank and other new regulations while continuing to drive business value. The company's 2003 acquisition by SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, enabled RiskAdvisory to blend its market-leading CTRM solutions with SAS' integrated data framework and superior business analytics, support services and worldwide reach. The result is an enhanced level of commodity capture, advanced analytics, modeling and reporting that brings new insight to trading, risk management and strategic business decisions. Learn more at www.RiskAdvisory.com.

About Balancing Pool

The Balancing Pool was established in 1998 by the Government of Alberta to help manage the transition to competition in Alberta's electricity industry. Its current obligations and responsibilities are governed by the Electric Utilities Act (effective June 1, 2003) and the Balancing Pool Regulation. In 2011, the Balancing Pool had revenues of some $969 million and managed more than $2.8 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.balancingpool.ca.

SOURCE: RiskAdvisory

Joe Gimenez, [phone], [email protected]

http://www.riskadvisory.com