Energy ’99 Speaker Bios
John
Baine, VP Business Development, Union Energy, North York, ON
John Baine resides in Kettleby,
Ontario (just north of Toronto) and is Vice President, Acquisitions and
Business Development of Union Energy. UE has purchased more than 15 companies
in the last 12 months.
Previously Mr. Baine has spent 20 years in senior general management and marketing positions primarily in changing organizations going through fast growth through acquisition and integration of large numbers of smaller organizations.
Bob Baron, Vice President, ICF Kaiser Consulting
Group, Fairfax, VA
Bob Baron is a Vice President
at ICF Kaiser Consulting, responsible for directing modeling and analysis
of North American natural gas market issues. As such, he has directed
analysis of the economics of Canadian pipeline expansions to the United
States, the cost competitiveness of Canadian and U.S. supply basins, and
the competition between coal and natural gas for share of the electric
utility market. Previously, as a Principal at DRI/McGraw-Hill, he worked
on energy and environmental policy issues. Before that, he spent ten years
with British Petroleum where, among other assignments, he was the Planning
Manager for BP’s U.S. natural gas business. Earlier, he was a Research
Scientist at the MIT Energy Lab working on advanced fossil fuel combustion
technologies. Bob has a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School
of Management, and a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering from Worcester
Polytechnic Institute.
David Branchcomb, Senior VP, Henwood
Energy Services, Sacramento, CA
David
Branchcomb serves as an expert economic consultant, witness and financial
analyst. Mr. Branchcomb is a recognized expert in the regulation of non-utility
generation facilities. With over fifteen years experience in the energy
field, Mr. Branchcomb has performed numerous economic and financial analyses
for alternative energy projects, been involved in power sales negotiations,
assisted in the development of energy demand forecasting models, and presented
expert written testimony on the issues of electricity and gas rate design.
Mr. Branchcomb has an M.A. in Economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a B.A. in Economics from Humboldt State University.
Phillip
Carter, Market Research, Westcoast Energy Inc., Vancouver, BC
Phillip Carter is the Head of Market Research for Westcoast
Energy Inc. Previously, Phillip has held positions with TransAlta (Manager
Industrial Accounts), the BC Ministry of Energy (Director, Electricity
Policy), Newfoundland Hydro (Manager, Economic Analysis Group), and the
Government of Newfoundland (Mineral Economist and Senior Economist). Phillip
holds both Bachelor and Masters Degrees in Economics.
George
Given, Senior Economist, Canadian Energy Research Institute, Calgary,
AB
George Given is a Senior Economist
with the Canadian Energy Research Institute, where he is responsible for
conducting research on the impact of electricity deregulation on natural
gas markets and preparing forecasts of electricity demand and prices.
He has been involved in a number of client-sponsored studies and reports,
including the study he will be presenting today. Prior to joining CERI,
Georege held positions in Corporate Strategies, Shell Canada and Resource
Planning. BP Canada. George holds an M.A. in economics from the University
of Calgary, with a specialization in Industrial Organization.
Dr.
Rick Hyndman, Adjunct Professor, School of Management, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB and Consultant, Canadian Association of Petroleum
Producers, Calgary, AB
Rick Hyndman is an Adjunct Professor
in the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta and a Consultant
with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He is also currently
co-chairing the Electricity Issues Table, part of the National Climate
Change Secretariat established by the federal government. From 1984 to
1997, he held various positions with the Alberta Department of Energy.
In his last position as Deputy Minister from 1995 to 1997, Rick oversaw
the restructuring of Alberta’s electricity market. Rick holds a Ph.D.
in Economics from the University of Toronto, a M.Sc.in Economics from
the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Economics from the University
of Alberta.
Dr. Robert J. Michaels, Professor, California
State University, Fullerton, CA
Robert J. Michaels is Professor
of Economics at California State University, Fullerton and Adjunct Scholar
of the Cato Institute and the Institute for Energy Research. He writes
and consults extensively on regulation and emerging competition, with
emphasis on the electricity and natural gas industries. His recent publications
have appeared in The Electricity Journal, Natural Gas, Regulation,
Public Utilities Fortnightly, Antitrust Bulletin, and Energy
Law Journal. He has chaired industry conferences on power markets,
consulted for electric utilities, governments, gas producers, power marketers,
and public interest groups, and testified before the Subcommittee on Energy
and Power of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an A.B. from
the University of Chicago and a Ph.D from the University of California,
Los Angeles, both in economics.
David
Porter, Commissioner, B.C. Oil & Gas Commission, Fort St. John, BC
Dave Porter was appointed BC
Oil & Gas Commissioner on October 27, 1998. Prior to this appointment,
Mr. Porter served as Chief Negotiator for the Kaska Dena Council and Ross
River Dena Council.
In 1992, Mr. Porter was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Aboriginal Affairs with the B.C. government and later worked with the Fur Industry European Lobby for Canada and the USA. Prior to this, he worked with the Yukon Human Rights Commission and in 1990 was the Deputy Minister of Culture and Communications for the Government of the Northwest Territories.
Mr. Porter was elected to the Yukon Legislature in 1982 and from 1985 to 1989 was the Deputy Premier and Minister Responsible for Constitutional Devolution, Renewable Resources, Tourism, Heritage and Culture.
Early in his career, Mr. Porter worked throughout the north as a radio journalist, including spending two years traveling with Justice Thomas Berger covering the MacKenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry for CBC.
Mr. Porter has lived in various communities throughout northern B.C. since childhood and now plans to settle in Fort St. John with his family.
Dr. Zak El-Ramly, President, ZE PowerGroup
Inc., Vancouver, B.C
Dr. Zakaria El-Ramly is the
President of ZE PowerGroup Inc. and the President of the Power Marketing
Association. Zak has twenty years of experience in the energy industry
and over the years has managed most major aspects of utility management
functions. His programs and initiatives have often served as models for
other utilities, most notably, his wheeling policy, DSM initiatives (Power
Smart) and the development of Powerex Power Pool.
He is recognized as an industry innovator and pioneer in the area of electric competition. His firm provides strategic power marketing consulting to industry members across North America and internationally. He leads a team of professionals in different power marketing projects; recently conducting a NYMEX futures multi-client study that overviews the effect, market response and optimal use of futures. Dr. El-Ramly’s group serves a variety of customer needs in the areas of strategic planning, regulatory response, marketing, resource acquisition, energy sales, asset and joint venture valuation and corporate analysis. Customers include gas and electric utilities, MUNIs, IPPs, marketers, cities, service organizations and end users.
Previous to forming ZE PowerGroup Inc., he was the Executive Vice President of Marketing of Powerex and has held many key positions in BC Hydro. He received his Ph.D. and M.Eng. from Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario and his B.Sc. from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Brian
Wallace, Partner, Bull, Housser, & Tupper, Vancouver, B.C
R. Brian Wallace is head of
Bull, Housser & Tupper’s regulatory group where he has devoted
his practice almost exclusively to energy and environmental matters and
advising clients with respect to the purchase of electricity and natural
gas. Mr. Wallace’s principal clients consist of major industrial
energy users, including the Council of Forest Industries and the Mining
Association of British Columbia.