The Coal Trading Association (CTA) will hold its first ever webinar to review the final draft of a new Master Coal Purchase and Sale Agreement for coal trading. The one-hour event will be held on Thursday, December 7, at 3:00 p.m. ET. The event is free and open to the media. (Note: Questions from the media will be taken following the webinar.)

In 2005 the CTA’s Board of Directors determined the need to update the Master Agreement, which the CTA first developed in 2000. The work began under the direction of two subcommittees of the Standards Committee, and later was consolidated under the activities of the Master Agreement and Nonperformance Subcommittee.

The document will be submitted to the CTA membership for approval during a business meeting that will be held at 1 p.m. on December 13 in New York City. The business meeting is part of the two-day Coal Trading Conference, which will be held at the Millennium Broadway Hotel. The Coal Trading Conference is jointly hosted by the CTA and the American Coal Council. This two-day event begins with a half-day board-only meeting, followed by a half-day business meeting open only to CTA members. The conference is open to nonmembers.

Speakers have been selected for the 5th Annual Coal Trading Conference, sponsored by the Coal Trading Association (CTA) and the American Coal Council (ACC). The CTA’s business meeting and an evening reception will be held on December 13 and the conference on December 14, both at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

Featured speakers at the conference will include a keynote address by NRG Energy CEO David Crane, “Transforming the Business of Wholesale Power Generation.” There will be four major sessions, featuring speakers and panels of industry leaders focusing on these topics:

• Keynote Address: Session 1: Global Energy Landscape
• Session 2: Regulatory Landscape
• Session 3: Shifting Supply and Demand Dynamics
• Session 4: The Future of Coal Trading

CTA and ACC members may register for $450 before November 11, $580 after that date. Nonmembers’ registration fees are $595 before November 11, $725 after that date. Registration is available online or by requesting a form from either the CTA (703-418-0392), or the ACC (602-485-4737).

The Coal Trading Conference is the leading annual industry meeting for coal traders. The event attracts a diverse group of more than 125 individuals from across the country, including coal traders, brokers, suppliers, utility senior managers, transportation officials, energy and coal media reporters.

The Coal Trading Association (CTA) has elected three individuals to its Board of Directors. The elections were held May 9 at the association’s 2006 Midyear Meeting in Orlando, FL.

Following are the new directors:

• Tom Hiemstra, Evolution, New York, NY (reelected for a second term and currently vice president);
• Judy Tanselle, NRG Energy, Princeton, NJ (elected for a full term);
• Michael Nobis, DTE Coal Services, Ann Arbor, MI.

Also on the nine-member board are President Brad Speer (Koch Carbon LLC), Secretary Raphael Pierce (Louis Dreyfus), Treasurer Stephen Smith (Sempra Energy Trading) and Directors David James (Ameren Energy Fuels and Services), Rick Pieper (Rio Tinto Energy America) and Doug Young (Dominion).

The CTA exists to promote efficient and effective coal trading and risk management practices and procedures. CTA develops and maintains industry standards for coal trading activity with the goal of achieving a disciplined, liquid and efficient coal trading industry. To achieve this goal, CTA develops policies, exchanges information among members and other interested professional and technical groups, and offers training programs to improve the knowledge, skills and practice tools of its members.

The CTA’s signature event, the Coal Trading Conference, will be held this year at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City, December 12-14.

The Coal Trading Association (CTA) and the American Coal Council (ACC) will hold the next two Coal Trading Conferences at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City.

• The 2006 event will be held December 12-14;
• The 2007 event will be held December 2-4.

The conference begins with the CTA annul meeting and an evening reception on the first day. On the second day there is a full-day conference. Industry leaders hear speakers and panels discuss trends in the marketplace, to improve their understanding of coal trading issues and to facilitate business relationships among the different sectors of the utility-coal business.

During the half-day CTA business meeting, members hear reports from officers and committee chairs. The members also discuss the association’s strategic direction for the coming year.

Registration forms and sponsorship information for the conference will be available online this summer. For more information call the CTA at 703-418-0392, or the ACC at 602-485-4737.

The Coal Trading Conference is the leading annual industry meeting for coal traders. The event attracts a diverse group of more than 125 individuals from across the country, including coal traders, brokers and suppliers, utility senior managers, transportation officials, energy and coal media reporters.

The Coal Trading Association (CTA) will host the 1st Annual Coal Connections Reception from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9 at the Disney’s Yacht Club Resort in Orlando, FL. The event is being held in conjunction with the Eastern Fuel Buyers Conference, which begins the following day.

The reception follows the CTA’s Midyear Meeting, held from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m., also at the Yacht Club Resort. During this meeting members discuss pending industry issues and hear reports from standing committees. The membership also elects new members to the CTA Board of Directors.

This year’s Midyear Meeting will focus on approval of a new Master Coal Purchase and Sale Agreement. The master agreement has been the focus of a committee that presented a draft revision at the Coal Trading Conference last December. The CTA is also working with the Edison Electric Institute’s Drafting Committee to see if the master agreement can be developed in conjunction with a new EEI coal “annex” for its Master Power Purchase and Sale Agreement.

Admission to the reception is free for those attending either the CTA Midyear Meeting or the Eastern Fuel Buyers Conference, $50 for anyone not registered. Reservations are requested. For sponsorship information call 407-438-9600.

The CTA exists to promote efficient and effective coal trading and risk management practices and procedures. CTA develops and maintains industry standards for coal trading activity with the goal of achieving a disciplined, liquid and efficient coal trading industry. To achieve this goal, CTA develops policies, exchanges information among members and other interested professional and technical groups, and offers training programs to improve the knowledge, skills and practice tools of its members.