Our annual fall energy conference focuses on the power and natural gas market outlooks & analyses and their applications to energy interests heading into the pivotal winter. Our speaker panels and activities ensure that our conference attendees have extensive opportunities to exchange ideas, build relationships, and discuss perspectives and strategies addressing critical issues with other analysts, traders, and meteorologists in the energy industry. 

The conference agenda includes presentations with question and answer sessions while more casual time is spent with activities such as golf, a dinner reception, and "O" bu Cirque du Soleil.  

We look forward to seeing you at the 13th Annual MDA Weather Services Energy Conference for Traders and Analysts in October!

 Michael Alexander, NOAA

Dr. Michael Alexander is a meteorologist at NOAA’s Earth Systems Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, who focuses on Pacific multidecadal variability. For the last 20 years, Alexander has conducted research on how weather and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific vary on decadal time scales.  Over the past year, Alexander has been an author on two papers – one published in Journal of Climate and the other in Nature Geoscience – linking changes over the North Pacific with changes in ENSO. Several recent studies have noted an increased frequency of central Pacific warming (CPW) events, also known as El Niño Modoki events. To learn more about Dr. Alexander’s work and to read his publications, visit his website. 

Carl Altoe, BTG Pactual

Carl Altoe is a meteorologist, natural gas strategist and trader for BTG Pactual Commodities in Stamford, CT. His specialties include the impact of weather on the natural gas and power markets as well as forecasting in the increasingly important 15 to 30 day time frame. He has over 13 years of experience in the energy industry, including nine years at Sempra Energy Trading. Prior to his work in the energy industry, Carl was a General Forecaster for the National Weather Service after graduating with a degree in Atmospheric Science from Penn State.

Amir Andani, Just Energy

Amir Andani is the Director of Risk Management at Just Energy managing various aspects of retail commodity risk for a $3.5 billion electricity and natural gas portfolio. Amir joined the risk management team at Just Energy in 2008 and has over 8 years of experience in the energy industry. Amir’s responsibilities include designing and setting risk limits, evaluating hedge strategies for managing weather risk and valuation and reporting of energy and weather derivatives. Amir has a B.Com degree from McMaster University and a CFA designation.  

Paul Choi, Swiss RE

Paul Choi works for Swiss Re's Weather & Energy Team based out of Houston, TX.  He works with clients to help them manage their weather and commodity risks.  Paul has almost 20 years of commodity risk management experience working at firms such as Enron, Constellation, Credit Suisse, and Merrill Lynch. Paul is an alumnus of the University of Michigan and obtained his BBA in 1995.    

Jim Duncan, ConocoPhillips

Dr. James Duncan is the Director, Structured Products for Conoco Phillips Gas & Power.  He is responsible for developing customized financial market strategies for both ConocoPhillips and its customers.  Using mathematical modeling to simulate financial markets as well as extensive market research and analysis, his team continually evaluates all facets of the market to optimize asset values. He is a featured speaker at numerous conferences and symposiums through out North America.

Vahid Golchin, ZE PowerGroup

Vahid supports ZE’s business and sales operations. As an integral member of the client management team, he has extensive experience in working closely with end users to ensure that they realizing the full value of ZEMA. His role entails active involvement in business development projects by facilitating ZEMA training and communicating product enhancements to current and prospective ZE clients. Vahid’s capabilities for new business development are matched only by the intensity of his desire to exceed client expectations. His experience in technical software sales has given him an acute ability to understand the business requirements of both prospects and clients alike and ensure that any ZEMA solution is seamlessly tailored to a client’s needs.

Mike Goodman, TESLA

Michael Goodman is the US Operations Manager at TESLA, Inc. located in Richmond, Virginia.  Mike completed his Bachelor of Science in Economics at James Madison University and his Master of Arts in the same discipline at George Mason University.  He began his career at TESLA, Inc. in 2004 as an Economist forecasting short range electricity and natural gas demand in the US and UK.  In his current role, Mike oversees the day-to-day operations of TESLA’s US office which provides a variety of energy industry forecasting solutions for clients in the US and Canada.  Mike has over ten years of experience in econometric consulting for the energy industry.

  Kyle Griffin, University of Wisconsin

Kyle Griffin is currently a PhD student in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI, working with Dr. Jonathan Martin. Kyle received his both his bachelor's degree (2010) and Master's degree (2012) from the University at Albany/SUNY in atmospheric science. Kyle's research work has spanned the globe, looking at the interactions between tropical cyclones, equatorial waves, and the mid-latitudes in the Indian Ocean, the Western Hemisphere, and across the North Pacific. These interactions and their impacts span time scales of days to weeks and can have lasting effects on the sensible weather downstream.

  Bob Haas, MDA Weather Services

Bob Haas is currently Manager of Energy Weather & Operations at MDA Information Systems LLC in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Employed with MDA for nine years, he began as an operational forecaster, focusing on short- and medium-range forecasts for the natural gas, power, and agricultural commodity markets. Five years ago, Mr. Haas overtook the role of Lead Forecaster which expanded his responsibilities to include creating market moving 15-day forecasts, as well as monthly and seasonal outlooks. Regular phone consultations with industry traders and meteorologists remain part of the daily routine for Haas. Along-side his ongoing forecast responsibilities, he also manages the Energy Weather Business area and the large staff of operational meteorologists at MDA. 

Gary Helm, PJM

M. Gary Helm is Lead Market Strategist in the Emerging Markets Department of PJM Interconnection. Mr. Helm evaluates strategic issues for PJM Interconnection, focusing on the impact of environmental legislation/regulation, fuel supply and infrastructure, and broad economic trends on electricity markets and grid operations. Mr. Helm co-authored “Coal Capacity at Risk for Retirement in PJM: Impact of EPA Transport and Hazardous Air Pollutant Rules.” Mr. Helm is the PJM project manager for the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaborative’s Gas-Electric System Interface Study. Mr. Helm has 25 years of industry experience, and prior to joining PJM, managed air quality issues including: policy, strategy, permitting and environmental markets for Conectiv Energy. Mr. Helm earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture, a Master of Engineering degree, and a Master of Finance degree from The Pennsylvania State University.

 Chris Hyde, MDA Weather Services

Christopher Hyde is an Energy Weather Consultant (Meteorologist) and Director of Weather Marketing at MDA Information Systems LLC in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Mr. Hyde has been employed with MDA Information Systems LLC for sixteen years.  As an Energy Weather Consultant (Meteorologist), Mr. Hyde is responsible for contributing to the consensus 30/60 day and seasonal forecasts.  Phone consultation with industry traders and meteorologists about the latest forecast view is part of the daily routine for Mr. Hyde.  Besides forecast responsibilities, Mr. Hyde markets MDA Information Systems LLC Weather Services energy and agricultural products by letting current clients know about new products and finding perspective energy and agricultural clients.  Over the past decade, Mr. Hyde has tripled the amount of weather clients that subscribe to various services and products.

Travis Hartman, MDA Weather Services

Travis is the Director of Weather Services at MDA Information Systems LLC in Gairthersburg, MD.  Hartman received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Meteorology as well as a minor in Business from The Pennsylvania State University in the spring of 2004.  He began his career with MDA Weather Services the following summer as an Operational Meteorologist working primarily on short and medium range domestic forecasts for the natural gas and oil industries as well as hourly forecasts (now-casting) for the utilities/power industry, and quickly worked his way up the ranks within the weather division to Manager of Energy Weather in 2009, and then to Director of Weather Services in 2013.  

 Paul Knight, Penn State University

Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Meteorology at Penn State, Pennsylvania's State Climatologist, as well as producer, co-host and on-camera meteorologist Weather World.  Paul’s research interests include long range prediction techniques and the use of artificial intelligence in forecasting significant weather events. Paul holds both the American Meteorological Society’s (AMS) and National Weather Association's Television Seal of Approval, is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) and served on the AMS Board of CCM's. He is also a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM). He received his bachelor and master degrees in meteorology from Penn State. He was the president (2006-2008) of the American Association of State Climatologists.

   Michael McPhaden, NOAA

Michael J. McPhaden is a Senior Scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle, Washington. His research focuses on large-scale tropical ocean dynamics, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and the ocean’s role in climate. He received his Ph.D. in physical oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1980. Over the past 30 years he has been involved in developing ocean observing systems for climate research and forecasting, most notably the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) moored buoy array in the Pacific for studies of El Niño and the Southern Oscillation. McPhaden is the immediate Past President of the American Geophysical Union, which has over 60,000 members from 148 countries. He has published over 200 articles in the refereed scientific literature and is listed as a Highly Cited Researcher by ISI Thomson Scientific.

Brian Tamplen, Champion Energy Services

Brian is an energy industry veteran with over 27 years experience in electricity, natural gas, and crude oil. He is currently Senior Vice President at Champion Energy Services overseeing the Supply, Pricing, Contracts, and Settlements groups. Champion is a top-10 retail energy provider with operations in ERCOT, PJM, MISO, NYISO, and will be active in NEISO later this year serving close to 20,000,000 MWh’s annually. Brian’s risk management and trading experience bring a unique perspective on each of these events.

 Kevin Sebastian, NRGSTREAM

Kevin Sebastian is EVP Sales & Marketing at NRGSTREAM where he focuses on customer experience and business development. Before joining NRGSTREAM in early 2005, Kevin held executive roles with various internet start-ups, and software organizations. Kevin has more than 27 years of experience in the IT industry, gained in Canada and the US. He has held senior management roles in organizations in the IT services, telecommunications, and energy industries.

Klaus Wolter, University of Colorado/CIRES

Mr. Wolter studied at the University of  Wisconsin in Madison where he received his Ph.D. in 1987 in their Department of Meteorology. After a one-year stint as a Visiting Scientist at NOAA’s National Meteorological Center (now: NCEP) in Washington, DC, he transferred to the University of Colorado in late 1988, where he has been affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES) as a Research Scientist ever since. Within CIRES, he works as a Research Scientist at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (Physical Sciences Division). His main research interests lie in empirical climate research, in particular the application of statistical methods to climate problems, such as the impact of ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation) on world-wide climate. Mr. Wolter has developed and refined a “Multivariate ENSO Index” (MEI) that is more robust than conventional indices in monitoring the ENSO phenomenon.  Monthly updates and discussions of the MEI as well as relevant publications can be found under http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/enso/mei/.