ZEMA: The No Compromise Solution

The ZEMA Suite™ is an Enterprise Data Management (EDM) and Analysis solution designed to align and manage your corporate data needs. Built specifically for the energy and commodities markets, ZEMA is a highly recognized and respected software solution leader that continues to help organizations of all sizes handle the challenges of data management and integration in evolving and complex markets...

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Distributed Resource Planning: Intelligent Utility

UTILITIES CONTINUE TO FIND INNOVATIVE WAYS TO AVOID building out new infrastructure or at least to delay the cost of doing so. More often than not, those strategies involve turning to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, fuel cells and advanced energy storage...

["Intelligent Utility Magazine September/October 2010"]

via Distributed Resource Planning (Intelligent Utility).

2010 Commodity Business Awards Voting

ZE PowerGroup^® has been shortlisted for the 2010 Commodity Business Awards. If you would like to vote for ZEMA, it is very simple and quick – you only need to click on this link: Commodity Business Awards.

Once there scroll down a bit and click on Data Management which is located under Commodity Market Development (the link will expand once you click on the words) and select “ZE PowerGroup / ZEMA”. Then you only have to enter your name, company, email and sector. You are also entered in to win an iPad on the site. Voting is now open and concludes on Friday October 22nd, 2010.

LDC Gas Forums: The Art of Risk Management by Dr. Zak El-Ramly

The LDC Gas Forums ™, comprised of five regional conferences held annually in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Canada, are the events where the Natural Gas Industry professionals meet. Each conference brings together hundreds of specialists to discuss vital regional and national issues affecting all aspects of natural gas marketplace. This year ZE PowerGroup^® sponsored all five conferences and and had one of its key experts speak there.

This year the 6th Annual LDC Gas Forums™ event for the Rockies & West was held from October 11th through October 13th in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Zak El-Ramly, President and CEO of ZE PowerGroup Inc., took part at LDC this year, and presented "The Art of Risk Management". Dr. El-Ramly started by providing a short introduction on ZE and then went into the ZEMA Suite of Products and ZE's recent awards. He also highlighted the major areas of ZE expertise.

Dr. El-Ramly explained the different sources of a modern market risk. He said that risk is the effect of uncertainty on objectives - whether positive or negative. "Market risk encompasses all aspects of elective operations. The environment in which you elect to participate in defines your risk," Dr. El-Ramly emphasized. Then he classified risk: it can be internal versus external business factors, predictable or random, controllable or non-controllable, quantifiable or not, insurable.

One of the most interesting topics of Dr. El-Ramly's speech was his view of the manageability of extreme risks. According to Dr. El-Ramly, extremes often weed the system and leave the strong ones but, by their nature, extremes pass by and we return to more normal conditions. He recommended planning to last through extremes while avoiding making decisions that assumes the extreme risks are here to stay.

Concerning managing business risk, Dr. El-Ramly advises that, "Managing business is a continuous act of making compromises. There is no perfect information, defined path or clear recipe for rights and wrongs. We manage by trial and error and consequently face failures and successes. The key to overall success is to be cognizant that the wrong will happen and trials will fail and to act prudently to limit the downside of failure while propelling during success."

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About Dr. Zak El-Ramly:
With a PhD in mechanical engineering, Dr. Zak El-Ramly has over 40 years experience in the energy industry and has held several executive/managerial positions with BC Hydro. He was the Executive Vice President of Marketing for Powerex, and is currently President and CEO of ZE PowerGroup Inc. and ZE Power Engineering Inc. Dr. El-Ramly is a participant in many industry organizations, expert in market competition, and exceptionally proficient in tooling clients with software solutions.