2017-18

Skipping Stone Hosts Seminar

Decision-Making Models in Complex Energy Markets

Tokyo, Japan – December 13, 2019 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm, hosted a seminar for more than 60 Japanese energy companies at the TOCOM meeting facilities. The topic of Decision-Making Models in Complex Energy Markets is increasingly relevant as the Japanese energy market continues to grow in complexity.

Peter Weigand, Skipping Stone Chairman & CEO, and Shuichi Kishida, President, Skipping Stone Japan, led off the seminar followed by Stuart Kelly, VP APAC, and David Wilson, CEO from Energy Exemplar, whose Plexos software is the global leader in analytics and decision modeling.  In addition, Steve Jenks, former head of Landis & Gyr in Japan laid out the various complexities, not just of Japan’s energy markets, but global markets as well.

“Audience participation was very robust as many attendees seem to be sorting out how to analyze and make sense of the market complexities,” said Shuichi Kishida.  “Many questions concerned the case studies provided for other global markets and how they might be applied in Japan.”

“The progression from a monopoly market to a simple initial market design followed by ever more complex markets is typical of every other liberalized energy market in the world,” indicated Peter Weigand.  “One of the keys for market participants to grow and thrive in complex markets is their ability to analyze vast amounts of data and then be able to make intelligent decisions quickly.”

About Skipping Stone
Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Singapore, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

Media Contact:

Skipping Stone Japan
Japan_info@SkippingStone.com
(03) 5521-1070

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Skipping Stone Partner to Lead Panel Addressing U.S. House of Representatives on Energy Storage

Atlanta, GA – October 29, 2019 – Skipping Stone Partner Ross Malme has been invited to lead a panel discussion during a lunch briefing for the United States House of Representatives on Friday November 1, in Washington, D.C. The briefing is sponsored by the Honorable Mike Doyle (PA) and organized by EDF (Environmental Defense Fund).

Mr. Malme, recognized as an international authority on the subjects of Demand Response, Distributed Energy Resources and Smart Grid, will moderate the panel of energy experts and lead off with a short Primer on Storage presentation.

Panelists will include Ray Hohenstein, Market Applications Director, Fluence; Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO, U.S. Energy Storage Association; and Alex McDonough, Vice President, Public Policy, Sunrun.

“We believe that efficient and low-cost energy storage is the backbone of a 100% clean economy,” said Elgie Holstein, EDF’s Senior Director for Strategic Planning. “Ross’ more than 30-year involvement in the field of Energy Management makes him the perfect person to moderate this important briefing about the role of energy storage in combating climate change.”

Ross Malme goes on to add, “I am honored to be selected by EDF to facilitate this panel on the value of energy storage in achieving our global objectives on climate change. This esteemed panel will provide keen insight into the energy storage market and how US government policy can facilitate the industry’s growth.”

About Skipping Stone
Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

About EDF
Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading international nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on EDF Voices, Twitter and Facebook. https://www.edf.org/

Media Contact:
Nancy Young
Skipping Stone, LLC
nyoung@skippingstone.com  
+1 (832) 279-3029

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Skipping Stone and Implementary Form Strategic Alliance to Promote APAC Business Expansion

Boston, Massachusetts – October 23, 2019 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm, and Implementary Pte. Ltd., an Asia-Pacific (APAC) energy consulting and systems implementation firm, today announced a strategic alliance agreement to promote complementary business services to each other’s clients.

With the growing globalization trend in LNG and power markets, energy clients of both firms are requesting expanded reach to cover multiple markets with services coordinated using cross-continent resources. To address client requirements, the two companies have developed an integrated resourcing model that leverages Skipping Stone’s strengths in North America, Japan, and the European Union (EU) and Implementary’s strengths in APAC markets.

The first focus area of the alliance is wholesale trading clients who are either active in or expanding into the recently liberalized Japan power and LNG markets. The companies are planning to roll out a jointly coordinated services menu for this area. In the near future, a webinar and presentation explaining the joint services will be scheduled for clients and other interested parties.

“A number of our clients have approached us about the Japan wholesale market, especially now that the power futures market is up and running. This alliance enables us to leverage Skipping Stone’s Japan expertise and relationships and for them to leverage our APAC experience and relationships. The real winners here are energy companies who need a coordinated project with skilled resources in both APAC and Japan markets,” said Jason Novobranec, Implementary Senior Vice President.

“We are excited about this alliance for several reasons,” said Skipping Stone Chairman and CEO Peter Weigand. “Implementary is well known and respected with unique skills, one of which is CTRM requirements, selection, and implementation projects. This area has huge potential in Japan as they roll out many new wholesale markets, such as futures, capacity markets, ancillary services, and a quickly growing OTC market.”

“In some ways, this is like putting the band back together,” added John Brown, Skipping Stone Partner. “In a prior position, the Implementary team and I worked together on many successful CTRM implementations globally. Already knowing what our partners can do and having worked together in the past will make coordination very easy and benefits our clients in that they don’t have the risk of a team learning curve.”

About Implementary

Implementary Pte. Ltd. provides top-class resources to assist in Enterprise Software Implementations in the APAC region. Headquartered in Singapore and drawing upon over 35 years of experience in the Finance, Technology, Commodity and Trading spheres, Implementary offers a fully outsourced implementation, project management, and post-go-live support service to help your company deliver excellence in this demanding and high-growth region. For more information, visit Implementary.tech.

About Skipping Stone

Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

Media Contacts:
Nancy Young
Skipping Stone, LLC
nyoung@skippingstone.com
+1 (832) 279-3029

Jason Novobranec
Implementary Pte. Ltd.
jason@implementary.tech
+65 9776 0425

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PLMA Global Load Management Group Meets in St. Petersburg

International Distributed Energy Resource Projects to be Explored

During Interactive Session of Energy Industry Practitioners

 

St. Petersburg, Florida – September 17, 2019 – PLMA, the voice of load management practitioners in the energy utility industry, announces its Global Load Management Interest Group will gain insights from three international distributed energy resource (DER) projects during the first day of the 40th PLMA Conference, Monday, November 4, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Florida. The group session will include presentations on “The Reuse of Electric Vehicle Batteries for Grid Scale Energy Storage by Utilities in Europe” by Mark Bailey of Connected Energy, “The Aggregation of Wind Farms and Other Renewables in Europe” by Tobias Weghorn of Next Kraftewerke, and “Establishing DER Flexibility via a Decentralized Energy Exchange Platform in both Australia and the UK” by Andrew Tanner of GreenSync.

The PLMA Global Load Management Interest Group brings together energy industry professionals interested in developing new activities for PLMA members from outside of North America and offers a chance to connect with international energy companies and technology providers interested in the work of PLMA. The group is co-chaired by Jon Hilowitz, Orange and Rockland Utilities; Scott Coe, GridOptimize, and Ross Malme, Skipping Stone.

PLMA’s national conferences, presented in spring and fall, provide a forum for practitioners from energy utilities, solution providers, and trade allies to share dynamic load management expertise, including demand response (DR) and distributed energy resources (DER). For two decades, PLMA conferences, educational programs, and networking opportunities have brought member organizations together to develop, implement, and share proven practices in a peer-to-peer network – offering load management leadership for the energy industry.

“PLMA has been the global thought leader in the demand response space for two decades, and we are now expanding our focus to the flexible load management space, particularly with innovation within the international energy community,” said Jon Hilowitz of Orange and Rockland Utilities and PLMA Global Interest Group Co-Chair.

Tobias Weghorn of Next Kraftwerke added, “The energy transition to renewable energy production is posing a challenge to system operation worldwide. One approach to effective renewables integration which has proven itself in various European markets is the Virtual Power Plant. We look forward to the exchange of perspectives and best practices from two quite different energy markets.”

“The support that has been shown for the Global Load Management Interest Group from the international community and our US DR technology providers is gratifying and continues to guide the direction that our program agenda takes,” commented Ross Malme, a Group co-chair and Skipping Stone Partner. “We are pleased to continue to bring timely, informative discussions to the PLMA membership.”

To learn more and register for the Global Load Management Interest Group activity and the 40th PLMA Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, visit www.peakload.org.

-end-

About PLMA. PLMA (Peak Load Management Alliance) is a non-profit association founded in 1999 that serves over 160 member organizations as the Voice of Load Management Practitioners.  PLMA seeks to advance practical applications of dynamic load management and distributed energy resources by providing a forum where members educate each other and explore innovative approaches to program delivery, pricing constructs, and technology adoption.  Learn more at www.peakload.org.

About Connected Energy. Connected Energy is an engineering led innovator in energy storage. Its technologies that utilise second life electric vehicle batteries are rapidly changing the way intensive energy users can access the benefits of low-cost, on-site solutions.  The company provides a range of solutions from system feasibility assessments and system design, through to standard and bespoke system supply, equipment installation, maintenance and operation.

About GreenSync. Founded in 2010, GreenSync is a global energy technology company that develops software for the electricity industry, providing market-enabling solutions that can connect, coordinate and control millions of distributed energy resources to create more flexible, transactive grids.

About Next Krafterwerke. Next Kraftwerke operates one of the largest Virtual Power Plants worldwide and develops solutions for the electricity market of the future. The Germany based company aggregates 8,000 renewable distributed assets, as well as commercial and industrial electricity consumers and storage units, with an overall capacity of 7 GW. By providing ancillary services to system operators, the VPP helps to keep the grid in balance. Based on its experience in VPP operation and power trading, Next Kraftwerke developed a set of VPP-as-a-service products to empower energy companies worldwide to build a VPP of their own.

About Skipping Stone. Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

Media Contacts:

Nancy Young, Marketing Director, Skipping Stone – 832-279-3029; nyoung@skippingstone.com

Ed Thomas; Executive Director, PLMA; (707) 652-5333;  ethomas@peakload.org

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Skipping Stone Presents at TOCOM Workshop

Retail, Trading, and Generator Companies’ Use of Electricity Futures Markets

Tokyo, Japan – September 4, 2019 – TOCOM has invited Skipping Stone’s CEO Peter Weigand and Max Duckworth to speak at their Electricity Futures Workshops in Tokyo today. The workshops are focused on providing Japanese retailers, trading companies and generation companies an education on how to use the new electricity futures market, which is opening September 17th.

Peter Weigand has extensive experience with futures and other forward market instruments in the U.S., U.K., and AU markets. He has worked with many retailers on their hedging and risk management strategies. As the former CEO of Commerce Energy, a large U.S. retailer, Peter led the adoption of Commerce’s hedging and use of futures to successfully improve margins.

Max Duckworth, a member of the Skipping Stone Global Team, is a former head of global trading for Constellation, one of the largest independent generation companies in the U.S.

“We’ve been involved in Japan’s liberalizing energy markets for five years now,” said Mr. Weigand, “the launch of TOCOM’s electricity futures market will be very beneficial for all types of companies and open more opportunities to provide consumers with a wider variety of price plan choices.”

About Skipping Stone

Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. The company is active in over 50 countries providing strategy development, market research, business planning and launch pad services a variety of retail, utility, trading, generation and technology companies. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London.

For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

Media Contacts:

US:
Skipping Stone, LLC
info2@skippingstone.com
832-279-3029   

Japan:
Skipping Stone GK
japan_info@skippingstone.com
+81 3-5521-1070

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Skipping Stone and New Energy Consulting Announce Strategic Alliance to Promote International Business Expansion

Press Release
NEC_60

 

 

 

Boston, Massachusetts – April 23, 2019 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm, and New Energy Consulting (NEC), a United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) energy consulting firm, today announced a strategic alliance agreement to promote international business expansion services to each other’s clients.

According to both consulting companies, they intend to jointly develop integrated advisory services to help UK and EU companies participate in US and Japan and for US and Japan companies to develop opportunities in the UK and EU. The companies are planning a webinar and presentation to introduce joint services capabilities, target markets and focus areas as well as explaining how the alliance can benefit clients globally.

“We have a number of UK or EU based clients that have expressed interest in expanding their business into either the US or Japan markets,” said NEC Director Rob Eynon. “This alliance enables us to provide a variety of international expansion services utilizing Skipping Stone’s expertise in both of these markets.”

“The NEC team shares a similar business philosophy and energy experienced based service approach like we do,” said Skipping Stone Chairman and CEO Peter Weigand.  “Our joint ability to leverage each other’s services in our respective markets will provide a better and more cohesive experience for those companies with international expansion aspirations.”

“Together we provide world-class research organizations with strategy, innovation and implementation services that help bridge relationship and market access gaps between the UK, EU, Japan and US for the benefit of clients of both firms,” added Mr. Eynon.

 

About New Energy Consulting

New Energy Consulting Limited, founded in2016, is a UK energy market consultancy set up to support their clients with operational and system challenges. Working alongside all the major software providers for challengers in the UK market, we have assisted new market entrants and existing suppliers – helping them get into the market or getting more efficient once active. With a large network of associates, New Energy Consulting supports across the full spectrum of energy retail, from business model design, trading and hedging, systems and partner procurement to support across the full customer lifecycle. For more information, visit newenergyconsulting.co.uk.

 

About Skipping Stone

Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

 

Skipping Stone Contact:
Nancy Young
nyoung@skippingstone.com  
+1 (832) 279-3029

New Energy Consulting Limited Contact
Rob Eynon
rob@newenergyconsulting.co.uk
+44 (0) 7740 199420

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International Investor U.S. Generation Performance Monitoring Service

scoville

Press Release

 

 

 

 

New Service Launched by Skipping Stone and Scoville Risk Partners

Boston, Massachusetts – June 11, 2019 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm, and Scoville Risk Partners, specializing in valuation, risk management and portfolio analytics in the energy and commodities sectors, announce a new U.S. generation asset monitoring service for international investors that covers all U.S. ISO wholesale power markets.

International investment in U.S. generation projects has grown dramatically over the past several years. Typically, international companies take a minority position in a generation project and invest based on expectations of a suitable rate of return using the project developer’s prospectus. The financial forecast in any prospectus will be different than actual results over the life of the project due to a variety of factors, including wholesale market price swings.

Many international investors lack expertise in the workings of US markets and struggle to explain to their boards of directors why their investment projects’ performance results differ from the initial prospectus. While generation project owners provide detailed information on performance metrics and explanations of deviations, this often doesn’t fully satisfy investors. These investors require independent verification of project performance and an analysis of key metrics to explain deviations from expected performance.

“Our generation asset monitoring service does not merely report and provide analysis of what has happened; we also explain why it happened and provide a perspective on what should have happened so international investors can understand any deviations and explain it to their boards,” explained Peter Weigand, Skipping Stone CEO. “This also helps the asset owner by avoiding tension due to their international investors not understanding how the US markets work.”

Glen Swindle, Managing Partner at Scoville added, “Our proprietary software sources performance data from the asset itself as well as complex, detailed market pricing information based on the asset location. We empower the investor with comprehensible explanations of the factors that caused any surprises or significant deviations from forecasted financial results, allowing them to raise potential issues with developers and outsourced asset managers.”

Skipping Stone and Scoville Risk Partners have decades of experience, access to all the market and pricing data and proprietary systems to calculate and track complex pricing formulas against actual market results.

About Scoville Risk Partners

Scoville Risk Partners specializes in valuation, risk management and portfolio analytics in the energy and commodities sectors, utilizing extensive commercial experience to provide a full range of outsourced analytic solutions and advisory services. Their proprietary technology solutions provide clients with efficient and accurate analysis of complex portfolios across a broad range of financial and physical assets.

Scoville’s advisory services are a combination of quantitative skills and trading experience that put the company in a unique position to assist clients in asset acquisitions, enterprise valuation and transaction structuring. Scoville’s existing client base includes investment banks and utilities, private equity firms, independent generation owners and retail energy suppliers. Learn more at https://scovilleriskpartners.com/

About Skipping Stone

Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Our subsidiary, Capacity Center, capacitycenter.com, is the only gas pipeline capacity trading & flow data technology system in the U.S.

Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

 

Media Contact:

Nancy Young
Skipping Stone, LLC
nyoung@skippingstone.com  
+1 (832) 279-3029

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TOCOM Launches Electricity Futures Market

Tokyo Commodity Exchange Launching Electricity Futures Market

Partners with Skipping Stone to attract U.S. Traders and Market Maker Participation

 Boston, MA – May 28, 2019 – The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) is preparing to launch its electricity futures market with an anticipated start date in September 2019 subject to approval of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The electricity futures contract is being designed for 15 forward months with East and West market clearing locations. TOCOM also has existing futures markets for precious metals, rubber, agriculture, and oil.

Japan is the third largest electricity market in the world with over 1,000 TWh of generation and is also the world’s largest LNG market importing over 83 million metric tons annually. Japan has deregulated the electricity and gas markets enabling competition to supply 87 million electricity and 25 million gas end-use customers.

Since full deregulation of the electricity market in April 2016, over 500 retail marketing companies have entered the market and about 18% of the customers have switched from utility supply to a retailer. The customer switch rate has averaged over 400,000 per month. The gas market deregulated in April 2017 with over 10% of end-use customers having already switched suppliers.

Deregulation has also spurred dramatic growth of electricity trading activity on JEPX, the physical spot market, which is now trading over 30% of Japan’s generation. Over the counter and bilateral electricity trading is also growing rapidly. Over 95% of LNG traded in Japan is currently tied to a market index, such as Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) which is highly correlated with TOCOM’s Platts Dubai Crude Oil futures contract, which closely mimics Japan LNG pricing.

Now that there is adequate liquidity in the underlying physical markets for electricity, the launch of the electricity futures market by TOCOM is in line with Japan’s Growth Strategy to provide a trading environment where multiple energy futures contracts, such as electricity and LNG, are available in one exchange. In addition, TOCOM and the Japan Exchange Group recently announced an agreement to pursue combining their businesses.

TOCOM has partnered with Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting firm, to introduce their electric futures market and attract U.S. trading companies and market makers to join the TOCOM market. Skipping Stone has been active in the Japan energy markets for over five years working with retailers, trading companies, generators, utilities and technology providers. The firm has assisted 10 U.S. companies who have entered Japan’s energy markets.

“We are focusing our marketing efforts on overseas proprietary traders, who make up a large part of TOCOM’s trade volume. These efforts have resulted in increased overseas trading, which now makes up the majority of TOCOM’s customer trades,” said Takamichi Hamada, President & CEO of TOCOM.

To support the launch and attract new members, Skipping Stone is scheduling a series of June introductory and informational meetings with U.S. trading firms that Masahiro Yamashita, Head of TOCOM’s Power Market Preparatory Office will attend.

“The futures trading and energy market opportunities in Japan are extremely attractive,” said Peter Weigand, Chairman and CEO of Skipping Stone. “It’s been years since a new market has opened and none that I can recall that have Japan’s size and attributes. With retailers clamoring for hedge products, deregulated electric and gas markets with numerous futures, swaps, options, spark spreads and more trading instruments in their early stages, the profit and arbitrage opportunities don’t get much better than this.”

TOCOM offers four types of memberships. Two of the membership types are designed for foreign trading companies and do not require a business location in Japan. Foreign trading companies are also able to trade TOCOM listed products through Broker members.

For more information on the Japan energy markets and futures market or to schedule a call or visit with Mr. Yamashita, please contact Atsuyo Miller, amiller@skippingstone.com  714-316-1914 (PDT)

About Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM)
Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. (TOCOM) is Japan’s largest commodity futures exchange with a trading representing a 98% market share, and one of the most prominent exchanges in Asia. Futures and Options contracts on a variety of industrial products are traded (i.e.: gold, silver, platinum and palladium in the precious metals market; crude oil, gasoline and kerosene in the oil market; aluminum and rubber). TOCOM was established in 1984 as a result of a merger between the Tokyo Textile Exchange, founded in 1951, the Tokyo Rubber Exchange and the Tokyo Gold Exchange.

For more information about TOCOM, please visit www.tocom.or.jp

About Skipping Stone
Skipping Stone is a global energy markets consulting firm that works with clients to navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. The firm has delivered bottom line results for over 270 clients in more than 50 countries engaged in gas, electric, renewables, distributed energy and energy technologies. Consulting services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, innovation, outsourced launch services, technology services, M&A services and project management.

For more information about Skipping Stone, please visit www.skippingstone.com

Media Contact: 
Nancy Young, Director of Marketing, Skipping Stone  Nyoung@skippingstone.com  +1 (832) 279-3029

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Skipping Stone and Monex Europe Announce Partnership

Press Release

 

 

 

Skipping Stone and Monex Europe Announce a Partnership to Help Clients Better Manage FX Volatility Risk and Cross-Border Payments

 

Los Angeles, CA – May 7, 2019 – Skipping Stone, a global energy markets consulting and technology services firm announces a partnership with Monex Europe, the world’s leading specialist in commercial foreign exchange. Under the partnership, Skipping Stone will work with energy companies involved in international commerce that can benefit from Monex Europe currency hedging and risk management services.

All FX trading, currency hedging and risk management services are provided by Monex Europe. With more than $5.2 billion in assets, group FX turnover in excess of $198 billion, and more than 4.9 million transactions made each year, Monex Group is one of the world’s largest commercial foreign exchange providers. Their global presence spans 12 cities across 3 continents. Monex Group’s industry-specific knowledge, sharper FX pricing, and market insight. Monex Europe will work with Skipping Stone clients to mitigate exposure to FX volatility risk and help them manage cross-border currency transactions with greater efficiency.

“Skipping Stone is active in 50 countries with many of our clients operating in multiple countries. As we have worked on business plans and financial forecasting, we have found that currency risk management can be a significant issue,” said Skipping Stone Chairman and CEO Peter Weigand. “Our partnership with Monex Europe will help our clients improve their bottom line by providing them with more effective and efficient options for managing their FX exposure and cross-border payments.”

 

About Monex Europe

Monex Europe is part of a wider global financial services group called Monex S.A.B., a publicly listed investment grade institution with more than 30 years of experience in the FX industry. As a group, the global presence of Monex spans 3 continents and 12 cities across the globe. Monex Europe is a top 10 global currency forecaster, consistently ranked at the top of forecasting tables by Bloomberg, FX Week, and Thompson Reuters FX pools. For more information, visit www.monexeurope.com.

 

About Skipping Stone

Skipping Stone is an energy markets consulting firm that helps clients navigate market changes, capitalize on opportunities and manage business risks. Our services include market assessment, strategy development, strategy implementation, managed services, technology selection, technology implementation, project management, and talent management. Our sector focus areas are natural gas and power markets, demand response, technology services, renewable energy, and distributed energy resources. Skipping Stone’s model of deploying energy industry veterans has delivered measurable bottom-line results for over 270 clients globally. Headquartered in Boston, the firm has regional offices in Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. For more information, visit SkippingStone.com or www.skippingstone.co.jp.

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Skipping Stone Participates in 9th Microgrid Global Innovation Forum

Atlanta, GA – March 12, 2019 – Skipping Stone Partner Ross Malme will participate in the 9th Microgrid Global Innovation Forum, North America. The forum, March 18-20, in Washington, D.C. brings together key industry executives for focused networking and information sharing concerning the design, implementation, and operation of renewables-centric microgrids in North America and globally.

Organizers describe the event as having an emphasis is on maximizing the effective use of sustainable distributed energy resources, refining the positive business model for a range of microgrid deployments, and sharing real-world case studies in both grid-tied and off-grid environments.

“More and more, our clients are seeking a path to a reliable energy grid, one that allows them control over energy use,” said Ross Malme. “Energy efficiency has become important, not only for economic reasons, but also because of increased environmental awareness.”

Ross will moderate a panel on Monday morning entitled Learning from the Leaders: Tech Innovator Perspectives. Also on the panel are Lee Ragsdale, Senior Vice President, Grid Infrastructure and Compliance, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives – Andy Haun, SVP – Chief Technology Officer, Microgrid Business, Schneider Electric – and John Glassmire, Senior Microgrid Advisor, ABB.

The event will focus on:

  • Microgrid feasibility, design, and implementation
  • Refining the business case for hybrid, renewable energy microgrids
  • Solar + storage advances
  • Utilization of energy storage for microgrid scenarios
  • Advanced battery, fuel cell, and flow battery technologies
  • Microgrid power control, management, and grid integration
  • Optimizing the management of distributed renewable energy resources
  • Effective project evaluation, implementation, and management
  • Microgrids as a grid resiliency and reliability strategy
  • Standards and interoperability issues
  • Market drivers and opportunities worldwide

“The international market for Smart Grid technologies is becoming increasingly attractive to U.S. companies as their expertise is sought after by countries with emerging economies and burgeoning energy needs,” continued Malme, “and this forum affords a great opportunity for deeper conversations than most events provide.”

To find out more about Skipping Stone’s work in Smart Grid Markets, contact Ross Malme: RMalme@SkippingStone.com.

 

 

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