January 2010 Executive Committee Meeting - NEM’s Annual Winter Executive Committee Policy and Planning Meeting will be held January 19 & 20, 2010, at the headquarters of South Carolina Research Authority in Charleston, South Carolina. NEM’s room rate has been secured at $129.00 per room per night at the Hilton Garden Inn Charleston Airport, 5265 International Blvd., N. Charleston, SC 29418. The Executive Committee sets the course for NEM’s advocacy in the coming year at this meeting. Many thanks to Bill Mahoney and South Carolina Research Authority for the generous offer to host this meeting. Please use this hotlink to register.

The National Energy Marketers Association (NEM) is pleased to announce that Ambit Energy (AMBIT) has been elected to NEM's Executive Committee. Ambit Energy will be represented by Jere W. Thompson, Jr., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Chambless, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Jim Timmer, Chief Financial Officer, John Burke, Chief Information Officer, Jim McFelea, Senior Vice President, Operations and Carl Williams, Director of Business Development.

Ambit Energy was founded in 2006 with the vision of being the finest and most respected energy provider in the United States. As a result, they're one of the fastest growing retail energy providers in the markets in which they operate. CEO Jere Thompson located Ambit's offices in a renovated warehouse in the historic West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas, and bought $19 fold-up tables to use as desks. He assembled an experienced team of executives who shared his goals for integrity, excellence, and frugality. In 2008, Ambit achieved profitability and recorded revenues of almost $200 million. The company expects to double that in 2009. And members of the executive team, including Mr. Thompson, still sit at those $19 fold-up tables.

"We're bringing innovation to an industry that's been around for a 100 years, that's never seen it before," said Mr. Thompson. "I think that's what you'll continue to see from Ambit Energy going forward."

Their employees and Independent Consultants are the heart and soul of Ambit Energy. They treat them right, help them reach their personal goals, emphasize high standards of integrity and excellence, and obsessively keep their costs low. As a result, their customers are the real winners.

The House Financial Services Committee passed legislation this week that would require the comprehensive regulation of the OTC derivatives marketplace. The bill would require that all standardized swap transactions between dealers and large market participants, called "major swap participants," must be cleared and traded on an exchange or electronic platform. A "major swap participant" is anyone that, "maintains a substantial net position in swaps, exclusive of hedging for commercial risk, or whose positions creates such significant exposure to others that it requires monitoring." Standardized swap transactions that involve end-users would not be required to be cleared. The bill provides parallel regulatory frameworks for the regulation of swap markets, dealers and major swap participants between CFTC and SEC. Reporting and recordkeeping will be required of all OTC derivative transactions.

Pursuant to FERC's review of the pipelines Order 712 compliance filings, the question arose as to whether pipeline tariffs must make provision for the same discounts to be provided to an asset management replacement shipper as is provided to a primary firm shipper. The Commission declined to establish a blanket requirement that pipelines provide the same discounted or negotiated usage or fuel charges to an asset management replacement shipper as was provided to a primary firm shipper. Rather, pipelines should utilize FERC's selective discounting policy on a case-by-case basis, subject to the requirement of no undue discrimination. If the asset management replacement shipper is similarly situated to the releasing shipper, the pipeline is required to pass through the discounted or negotiated rate to the asset manager. The full text of the Order is available on the NEM Website.