Anybody real-time trade Western power markets?

[M.alex]

I've always been interested (at the theoretical level) in western power trading - anybody on here participate in those markets? (and if so, wana hire me to be a trader on your team ... i make you lots of money :rofl: )

[DRKM]

I have been trying to get in power trading for years. Sigh...

[Thomas Gabriel]

What are your qualifications?

[Cos]

I have some friends who work at powerex in Vancouver.

[Jlude]

I have one who does this, he's based in Calgary. It took him a little while to get into it, he really had to work some wicked long hours (80 hours a week) before he actually started trading. Now he's doing very well for himself.

[rinny]

The trick to this role is...

Make friends with an operator in the control center and throw some kickbacks their way.

Its certainly an interesting position and I'd be hugely interested in it as well but with zero business experience I could imagine it'd be hard to get into.

[M.alex]

Originally posted by Thomas Gabriel
What are your qualifications?

math background (statistics/actuarial science), 9yrs working experience as a financial engineer, programming abilities (c++, php, sql, excel/vba), worked as a statistical energy futures analyst for a futures investment firm with $250M capitalization, worked for a $3b bio-fuels firm setting up corporate synergies, worked for an investment management company modeling and managing a closed-end fund traded portfolio platform. Also have dabbled a bit with contract oil&gas corporate divestiture opportunities with my own company.



Originally posted by DRKM
I have been trying to get in power trading for years. Sigh...

Yea, it really is a closed-circle type environment. Even somebody such as myself has difficulties getting into it (although it isn't surprising given how popular the field is on many different levels).

The Power environment has always really fascinated me (with its seasonality and extreme mean reversion) and I'm getting bored with contract stuff so I've been poking around to see if I can get in and explore it. Not to mention that since the teams have to work 24/7 that's perfect for me - I looooooove to work during the afternoon/evening/night since that's when i've always done by best analysis and come up with the most kick-ass trading strategies ...... I'd imagine most wouldn't want the later shifts since they'd rather spend a bit of time w/ their families instead?

[Superdooper]

I don't know if this is the same type of job you guys are talking about, but I was called for an interview for a real-time analyst for the Alberta power desk at ATCO, which I turned down....so probably someone else got called.

What turned me off was that it was 24/7 and also I was not sure what kind of career path I could follow and whether I would be stuck with little upward mobility. (the biggest thing is that I am pursuing masters so I couldn't do it next year anyways).

What is the pay for an entry level position like? Also what kind of opportunities would exist afterwards? Hows the working environment?

[DRKM]

Originally posted by M.alex



Not to mention that since the teams have to work 24/7 that's perfect for me - I looooooove to work during the afternoon/evening/night since that's when i've always done by best analysis and come up with the most kick-ass trading strategies ...... I'd imagine most wouldn't want the later shifts since they'd rather spend a bit of time w/ their families instead?

I Love Working Nights! Program best at night for sure. Spend a few years researching only on a night schedule and it is difficult to do anything else.

Lately I have been investigating the volatility structures of cross traded stocks. Super interesting but to be in the complexity group you must be doing good scholarly work: Not trying to find ways to make money.
:(

[M.alex]

Originally posted by DRKM


I Love Working Nights! Program best at night for sure. Spend a few years researching only on a night schedule and it is difficult to do anything else.

Lately I have been investigating the volatility structures of cross traded stocks. Super interesting but to be in the complexity group you must be doing good scholarly work: Not trying to find ways to make money.
:(

It's funny you mention that - I've never understood why the whole attitude (Regardless of job function or industry) of 'I'm here to make money' is so negative out there.

I'm here to make a profit. Not to volunteer. Not to help the needy. To make money. Period. Oh well, whatever.

[TheRealTimHorton]

Alex, I think I've seen you posting on ET or am I wrong?

If you've made some godly trading strats that actually work you could probably make a living just selling the strat and trading it as well. (And then you wouldn't even need to work lol).

I've never traded power but if it does have tendencies for extreme RTM then it shouldn't be too difficult to trade from home? Unless this is day trading you're talking about, at which point I understand how margin reqs would make it not feasible when factoring in drawdowns and you have to pay the bills.

I'm suddenly interested in trading the WTI-BRENT after seeing the huge divergence back in FEB and how godly that trade would have been for a long. Seasonality in intercommodity spreading I think would be one of the safest ways to leverage up for some pretty good trades, maybe you can see some of this in the power markets as well.

[M.alex]

I used to post on ET a long time ago, but not recently. Must be somebody else.

I've got a bunch of stuff archived I could trade on my own account (if I wanted to use my own capital, which I don't) or sell (I have most of the business I've worked for in the past just archived on a bunch of hard drives, lock stock and barrel, lol .... anybody want to buy some engineering plans for an ethanol plant?), but I'm more interested in learning the Western power markets.

You know what they say, OPM/OPT (other people's money/time)