MarketAdvisor Consulting Services

www.apx.com page 1 of 7E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R YAPXBusiness Consulting ServicesAPXhas established itself as a leader in the US energy and environmental markets.APX is unique in that it serves market participants, performs services on behalf ofmarket participants, and operates as a Scheduling Coordinator and Quali?edScheduling Entity on behalf of generation, load, and ?nancial clients. Our experiencespans all US power markets. We havebeen active since the inception of the ?rstNorth American wholesale power marketnearly ten years ago.Knowledgeable. Focused. Connected.The APX Professional Services staff is not your typicalbusiness consultant. We have a deep knowledge ofthe energy and environmental industry, and under-stand the detail and the nuance. We participate inmarket working groups and sit at the table whenpolicy is discussed and in?uenced. We understandwhat is critical, as well aswhat is not.All APX Professional Service professionals comefrom the energy industry. Our professionals have anaverage of 12 years experience “sitting across thedesk,” experiencing ?rst hand many of the issuesthat our clients face. From this base of experience,our professionals can offer unique insights and theability to collaborate with clients to deliver practical,not merely theoretical, solutions. Our clients valuethis knowledge, because it means that the APXProfessional Services staff can focus a conversation,get to the point, and ?nd an optimum, cost effectivesolution quickly. Our areas of expertise includeassisting clients in:• Analyzing the implications of power marketchanges on clients’ business operations, includingprocesses, technologies, and organizations• Preparing for and implementing changesnecessary to comply with market rules andadopting new technologies• De?ning business strategies surrounding powermarket participation and operation• Developing front, mid, and back of?ce operationalstrategies• Performing generation asset monitoring andcontrol services• Advising clients on entering new markets,including supporting their trading strategies• Analyzing cost of control area service(including settlement charges) for variousoperating scenarios and conditions• Identifying data and information requirementsand delivering business intelligence andanalytic solutions• Performing system integration services aimed atoptimally leveraged information and data acrossthe enterprise, and automating business processes• De?ning and managing environmental registryand banking programs• De?ning and managing demand managementprograms, including advanced meteringrequirementswww.apx.com page 2 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESWhychooseAPX?Deep Domain ExpertiseAPX Professional Services staff has extensive expe-rience in scheduling and settling physical power inderegulated power markets. APX experience spansall of the North American RTO regions, giving our cli-ents insight into lessons learned across regions. Wemanage over 300 million megawatt hours each yearand provide asset control services to nearly 10,000MWof generation.Strong References and ClienteleOur broad client base in multiple regions allows usto understand the complexities facing retailers,generators, power marketers, utilities, and end users.APX currently serves energy market participants ona real time basis and understands their business.LeadershipAPX is the leader in hosted power market operationssolutions for market participants. Our technologyand services power the nation’s largestenvironmental registries, including the TexasRenewable Energy Credit Program System, theNEPOOL GenerationInformation System, PJMGATS, and most recently WECC’s WREGIS system.Further, we provide technology and operationalsolutions, operating the nation’s largest demandresponse program.Crisp ExecutionAPX Professional Services delivers client-speci?cproducts and services, stands ready to deploydedicated staff, and delivers a quality work productto meet your speci?c needs in a timely manner.We employ proven methodologies and tools tomaximize productivity and consistency.24/7 OperationsSince 1998, the APX Operations Center team hasbeen actively managing scheduling and settlementoperations with ISOs, sending up schedules, anddispatching units. We know what it takes to operatein the deregulated markets and have integratedsolutions to automate the majority of these processes.Further, our highly skilled Market Operators serve asa skilled resource to our clients in areas ranging fromtransaction management and help desk support tothe trusted execution of outsourced businessprocess functions.Leading TechnologyWe have unmatched expertise in solutions andtechnology development. Our team of softwareengineers and business experts is ready to designand implement custom applications to help clientsmanage data and streamline processes.The APXMethodWe employ a highly collaborative and structuredapproach that consists of deploying a select numberof APX subject matter experts to work in harmonywith key client team members. Our subject matterexpertise and proven methodology, coupled withclients’ business operations and environmentalknowledge are the recipe for success. And weguarantee our work.www.apx.com page 3 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESConsulting ServicesMarket Entry ServicesAPX is uniquely quali?ed to assist clients wishingto enter the wholesale power markets. Our marketknowledge, contacts with control area operators,and ability to quickly deliver services are the reasonsthat almost every investment bank that has enteredthe wholesale power markets in the last few yearshas selected APX as their market entry consultant.APX offers several market entry services:Scheduling Agent Setup: APX directs and coordi-nates activities related to establishing a schedulingagent for participation in various wholesale markets.Other than supplying required information, and insome cases facility access, APX provides a complete“handsoff” solution for customers by ?ling paperwork,arranging for all telecommunications and dataaccess, and scheduling and participating inquali?cation testing.Scheduling Entry Advisory Services: In somecases, clients prefer to establish their ownscheduling agent and have an existing operationsand technology infrastructure to support ongoingscheduling, but require market expertise to guidethem through the setup process. APX’s ProfessionalServices is experienced in providing general marketknowledge, guidance with speci?c requirementsof control areas, and important insights into setupmethodologies that streamline the process andprevent unexpected issues from arising.Strategic Advisory Services: Because of ourongoing participation in the power market in amanner that makes APX a neutral party, we areuniquely positioned to provide strategic consulting forclients considering entering the wholesale or retailmarket. We have assisted companies in both high-level qualitative assessments as well as detailedquantitative evaluations that include detailedcosting related to entering these markets.Market Readiness and Transition Services APXis always “market-ready.” Our staff of ISO experts isavailable to assist clients in understanding thebusiness impact of upcoming market changes suchas CAISO MRTU, and in preparing our clients tomaximize their business potential with theopportunities created by these changes. We canhelp you:• Gain a deeper understanding of your businessoperations, and the implications of marketchanges on your operations, your pro?tability,and the competitive landscape• Develop a business strategy to respondthe changes• Develop a market transition roadmap andimplementation plan that enables you tomaximize your business potential• Finally, we can assist in any implementation effortsAPX has assisted market participants plan for andparticipate in deregulated power markets for 10years. Let APX put its experience to work for youwww.apx.com page 4 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESConsulting ServicesBusiness ProcessOptimization and OutsourcingAPX leverages its ongoing operational infrastructureto offer clients a highly professional and cost effectsolution for partial or complete outsourcing of marketoperations and/or front-, mid- and back-of?cebusiness functions. We also have the expertiseto help you dramatically improve your internalprocesses and procedures. We provide:Market Operations: APX maintains a OperationsControl Room that is staffed by experiencedoperators who are trained and dedicated to speci?cmarkets. Each market desk is staffed 24 hours aday, 365 days a year. APX can act as a client’s 24/7desk and receive and coordinate all control areacommunications. Further, APX can take action onbehalf of clients to provide immediate response asan off-hours supplement to a client’s operationsdesk or APX can completely replace the need for aclient to build, equip, and staff their own operationsroom. APX operations staff can handle all post-tradeactivity, such as handling monthly and daily book-outs with client counterparties; creating, monitoringand adjusting NERC tags; creating, monitoring andadjusting transmission reservations; and submittingschedules and bids across multiple North AmericanISOs. We have the capabilities and infrastructure tosupport partial or complete operational functions.Market Settlements: APX can supplement orreplace a company’s settlement organizationfor market settlement functions, including estimatingdaily ISO charges; booking daily or monthly P&L;validating ISO settlement statements against internaldata points or prior estimates; creating, submittingand monitoring disputes; and integrating settlementinformation back into client internal ?nancialsystems. Leveraging our infrastructure andexpertise allows our clients to achieve signi?cantcost ef?ciencies.Business Process Design: APX ManagementConsultants are skilled and experienced in assistingenergy market participants in the redesign of keybusiness processes to insure maximum ef?ciencyand productivity of the organization.Market Monitoring and Advisory ServicesAs a hosted application provider to over 40 marketparticipants, interacting with the control areas isour business. Our professionals actively participatein working groups and sit at the table when policyis discussed. Our Market Operators interact withdozens of market participants 24/7. We are keenlyaware of what is happening in the power markets.Let us put our knowledge to use for your company.• Keeping clients abreast of pending changes anddiscussing the implications to your business• Providing specialized training and education onspeci?c market developments• Acting as your company’s eyes and ears at keymeetings and events to leverage our economiesof scale, minimize disruption to your businessand reduce monitoring costs• Working collaboratively with other similar marketparticipants to identify business and technologysolutions as a group. Implementing marketsolutions for a consortium of entities to minimizerisk and cost.www.apx.com page 5 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESConsulting ServicesEnvironmental ProgramDevelopment and ManagementAPX is the industry leader in supplying technologysolutions, managing and operating large environ-mental registry and demand response programs.Our staff of experts is available to assist clients inall facets of developing, implementing and managingthese programs. Working with all types of marketparticipants – ISOs, Utilities, and Service Providers,APX solutions are valued for their ability to uniquelyreach across market segment boundaries toachieve goals.• Developing program rules, processes, guidelinesand procedure• Identifying operational and technological solutionsto maximize effectiveness and minimize cost• Program evaluation and integration• Veri?cation and tracking methodologies• Business strategy consulting• Market entrance support for new providersor participantsAsset Control & AnalyticsAPX understands asset control & analytics. OurProfessional Services team provides a wide rangeof services and solutions for asset owners. Thesesolutions are tailored to your needs, re?ectingspeci?c features of the market, the asset, and thevarious business practices of asset owners.• APX provides asset monitoring tools that gathertelemetry from multiple energy assets andsummarize these values on an operator dashboard.• APX’s operator dashboard presents priceinformation and system-wide parameters thatassist asset owners with commercial andoperational decisions.• APX systems communicate directly with systemcoordinators and other control entities, submittingrequired real-time information from generationresources and receiving realtime dispatch signals.• APX offers real-time optimization of generationdeviation penalties.Systems IntegrationAPX specializes in seamless system developmentand integration. Amajor challenge for the energyindustry is the integration of numerous platformsand applications. These are typically multi-vendorsystems built on different and in many casesproprietary platforms, resulting in complex, expen-sive and extended integration work. Our skilled teamis able to provide custom integration applicationsthat simplify the transfer of data among various en-ergy management systems. Our experience acrossthe value chain of the energy market provides youwith fast-track, quality technology and businessprocess solutions in:• Custom application development• Integration services between internal systemsand control area systems• Full-cycle consulting for new product evaluation,assessment, and development• IT infrastructure deploymentBusiness Intelligence Servicesand Advanced ReportingAPX has the expertise and technology to handle allyour advanced reporting and analysis needs. Wehave recently added new functionality that greatlyincreases the ?exibility of accessing and handlingyour energy business data. Built on the conceptof a data repository, APX gathers information from avariety of data sources and maintains it within adatabase architecture. From that database, theinformation is accessible through reporting thatallows the client to run reports “on the ?y”, set upreports to run on a routine basis, and use the storeddata to meet the client’s specific needs. Thisenhanced settlement functionality can accessdata from APX sources, external sources (ISO data,price information, weather), client data (internal clientsystems like deal capture) and other data sources.www.apx.com page 6 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESAPX Example ProjectsMarket Preparation ServicesA large municipality decided to assume responsibilityfor scheduling and settlements by revising theiroperating agreement with the area’s utility. APXprovided a comprehensive set of preparationservices including business planning, SC setup,metering and data processing, systems integration,settlement estimation, validation, dispute manage-ment, and operator training.Market Entry PlanningAPX was engaged by a large multi-market ?nancialinstitution to assist them in preparing for entering theCAISO and ERCOT energy markets. APX providedsubject matter experts to serve as Market Advisorsto the client project team during the establishmentof SC services in the CAISO market and QSEservices in the ERCOT market. The areas of focusand speci?c tasks performed by APX personnelincluded input on connectivity to the ISO, includingassessing and recommending vendors; evaluatingoptions/alternatives (technical and operational)based on cost ef?ciency and other components;and sharing experiences to support decision making.Additionally, APX provided guidance on SC/QSEpro?ciency testing, including review of requirements;determining best options and guidance to supportsuccessful testing. Finally, APX provided support inestablishing 24 hour operations that met ISOrequirements, including discussion of options;determining minimum requirements; and sharingexperiences and lessons learned fromsimilar projects.Business Strategy ConsultingA large utility company wanted to evaluate thepotential of the ERCOT Retail Market in order toassess the business impact of becoming a RetailElectric Provider. The project focused on the size ofthe potential market as well as the client’s ability tomeet market requirements. Published marketdata and potential customer interviews were usedto determine base requirements as well as potentialofferings to retail customers. The total market sizeand expected penetration levels over time werethen estimated and combined with pricing assump-tions to determine a ?nancial pro-forma. Importantinsights were discovered by conducting interviewsdirectly with potential customers. In addition, APXused its operational knowledge to establish detailedcost projections that gave the client a realistic entrycost. The ?nal report established the size of thebusiness opportunity provided by the ERCOT RetailMarket and determined the extent to which existingassets and capabilities could be leveraged toprovide services.Program Development & ManagementAPX currently provides a full range of services andsupport for the largest capacity based demandresponse program in the United States. Thisincludes coordinating activities across dozens ofkey stakeholders and program participants;complete program management and help desksupport; leading efforts to enhance the program,including charges to program guidelines andprotocols; making all system enhancementsnecessary to enable the program. APX hasbeen providing these comprehensive servicessince the inception of the program in 2002.www.apx.com page 7 of 7A P X B U S I N E S S C O N S U L T I N G S E R V I C ESAPX Example ProjectsMarket Readiness and Transition ServicesA leading energy retailer operating in multiple NorthAmerican markets retained APX to help themprepare for and operate in the MISO energy andtransmission markets. APX brought to bear a deepunderstanding of MISO Day-2 business practices andan intimate knowledge of the client’s operations andobjectives. APX performed a Market Readiness andPlanning Assessment for the company that includedevaluating the impacts of market changes on theclient’s operations; development of a detailed planto address operational shortcomings; developmentand implementation of operating guidelines andprocedures speci?c to the client’s business;participation in MISO Parallel Operations; andeducation and training on market changes andnew procedures. With APX’s help, our client’stransition to Day-2 operations was smooth andthey were assured to be in compliance with allMISO requirements.Business Process OutsourcingOne of the largest merchant generators in NorthAmerica engages APX for complete RMR Invoicingservices. APX creates the monthly RMR Invoicesby gathering, validating, and formatting all requireddata. APX is responsible for CAISO communicationand making any changes in technology or processrequired to keep the RMR Invoices in compliancewith market changes. APX also supports the client’s?nancial accounting process by providing estimatesof settlement charges shortly after the trade date.Operations Strategy ConsultingA large retail industrial company wanted toevaluate the potential to act as their own SchedulingCoordinator and self-provide power for their indus-trial load. APX assisted with determining the costsand bene?ts of various energy procurementstrategies. In addition to a higher level assessment,the study included a detailed estimation andevaluation of the client’s ISO related charges.About APX, Inc.APX provides technology, energy consulting, andexpert operational services to assist wholesalepower market participants reduce costs andimprove performance in power scheduling, settle-ment, market operations, and demand responseprograms. Clients include utilities, merchantgeneration companies, wind and renewablepower generators, ?nancial institutions, retail serviceproviders, ISOs/RTOs, and other electricity marketparticipants. APX is also North America’s leadingprovider of environmental registry solutions formarkets in renewable energy and greenhousegases, as well as corporate environmentalmanagement. APX technology is now the system ofchoice for every major renewable energy market inNorth America, including the PJM, ERCOT, WECC,New England and other markets. A privately heldcompany, APX is headquartered in Hoboken, NJ.More information is available at www.apx.com orcontact 408.517.2100.