Integrative courses at energy and commodities related utility management programs in business and engineering schools, executive MBA programs and in-house programs.

Teams manage a power utility that has its own production with coal-fired, gas-fired, and eolic power plants and a solid customer base consisting of both industrial and residential customers. The company uses forward contracts for hedging against market price fluctuations and it operates in markets where greenhouse gas regulations and carbon emissions trading take place.

The task for the teams is to manage the sales, production, risk management, and finance functions of a power utility. Teams make decisions regarding pricing, marketing, plant investments and divestments, capacity utilization and operational improvements, renewable energy, risk management policy, funding, and profit redistribution.

Electric Utilities Management Business Simulation familiarizes participants with the whole decision-making environment for a power utility; including electricity sales, procurement, renewable energy investments, sustainable development policies, risk-management, financials, and their relationship with each other. During the rounds, participants experience how variations in the electricity spot price impact their profitability, how they should take those price variations into account when pricing to their own customers, what types of power plants to use under different conditions, what kind of risk-management policies they should apply, how different regulatory aspects influence the company’s operations, and how the changes in customer preferences and shifts in demand should be taken into account.

The success of the teams is measured by their ability to generate sustainable shareholder returns. The returns are dependent on how teams can incorporate the impact of regulatory policies in their investment decisions, how they address the preferences of different customer segments, and how successful they are in their risk management and financial decisions.

Participants develop capabilities in formulating, implementing, and adapting business strategies in a dynamic competitive environment. In addition, they will enhance their fact-based decision-making skills and improve their financial knowledge through linking operational decisions to cash flows and bottom-line performance. The electric simulation exercise also gives practical experiences in teamwork and problem solving and excites competitive spirits in a dynamically evolving marketplace.

English, French, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish.