"Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark while a large group of professionals built the Titanic" -- author unknown.
EPIC Merchant Energy
EPIC Merchant Energy is a financial trading and power marketing firm located in Houston, Texas. EPIC was founded in January, 2003 with the consolidation of two companies: Outback Power Marketing and Power Dispatch & Marketing Consultants (PDM). Today, EPIC is a diverse, multinational, power marketing company actively involved in trading in most of the major wholesale electricity markets in the United States. EPIC trades electricity and financial products in most of the organized Independent System Operator and Regional Transmission System Organization Systems. The Company also trades energy related products on ICE and NYMEX. EPIC was one of the first companies to actively trade financial or "virtual" products in the ISO/RTO markets, and also helped develop many of the regulatory rules and reforms that have allowed this market sector to flourish.
The employees of EPIC possess a broad range of experience, including: control center operations, trading, asset management, electrical engineering, protective relaying, system development, quantitative analysis and contracting. EPIC supports the continued deregulation of the power industry and provides valuable industry input from a financial marketing perspective through its membership on various ISO/RTO committees. EPIC is a member of the North American Reliability Council, is an active participant in many rulemaking and other proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and supports the North American Energy Standards Board in its efforts to develop market-based business practices.
History
EPIC Merchant Energy was founded by entrepreneurs with extensive experience in finance, accounting and the electric utility industry. This utility experience included many years of work in electric utility control center operations, transmission grid operations and responsibility for matching generation to load on some of the country's largest electric utility systems. Since its founding, EPIC has added an impressive group of professionals with engineering degrees, PhDs in the quantitative sciences and trading specialists experienced in working with a broad range of energy and financial markets.
The Future
EPIC anticipates growth in any and all aspects of financial electricity trading, including, but not limited to the following areas and markets:
- California ISO
- ERCOT
- Ontario
- France
- China
- New Zealand
- Australia
- NORD Pool
- Mars – Don’t laugh, it could happen.
Managing Partners
Robert Erbrick is one of the founders of EPIC Merchant Energy. Prior to forming EPIC and its predecessor companies, Mr. Erbrick had over 23 years of experience in power dispatch, relay and system scheduling for both PJM Interconnection and several energy companies. Mr. Erbrick worked for PJM for a couple years as a Scheduling Coordinator. He left PJM to pursue an opportunity in the Power Marketing field with SONAT where he held positions as Scheduler, Short Term Physical Trader, Hubtrader and Manager of 24 hour Operations. When SONAT merged with El Paso Energy, Mr. Erbrick was brought on board as Manager of El Paso Merchant Asset Operations to start up El Paso’s Asset Operations group . In January, 2001 he was made Vice President of the Cross Commodity Group for Merchant Energy after he successfully developed an operation that managed assets in the CA ISO, NE ISO, NY ISO, PJM, SERC Region and the MAIN Region.
As Manager and Vice President for merchant assets at El Paso, Mr. Erbrick was responsible for contract review and assisted in the development of procedures necessary to properly capture deal information for accounting and other purposes.
Mr. Erbrick has been active in many industry groups including, Market Representative on the NERC CPWG/iMIC/MIC, the PC and ESC MAIN Region Operating Committee.
Michael Kinsey is one of the founders of EPIC Merchant Energy. Prior to forming EPIC and its predecessor companies, Mr. Kinsey had over 15 years of utility, Power Pool, and Marketing experience. Mr. Kinsey began his utility career at Atlantic Electric as a Transmission/Generation Dispatcher. He later joined PJM Interconnection as a Scheduler, and was later promoted to Generation Dispatcher.
Mr. Kinsey was recruited by El Paso Energy to manage their merchant generation assets in the PJM region. In addition to managing PJM assets, he helped establish El Paso Merchant Energy as a formidable presence in the PJM Two Settlement Market and the Fixed Transmission Rights Market. He was also extensively involved in the contract review process for all of the El Paso owned PJM generation assets. Mr. Kinsey was an active participant in the PJM Two Settlement Working Group, Credit Users Group, Energy Market Committee, PJM Members Committee and the PJM Operating Committee.
Pierre Tournois – Mr. Tournois holds a Master of Engineering degree from the EPF Engineering School in Paris, France. He has also studied at the University of Texas at Austin.
Mr. Tournois has been working on locational market price based markets for over 5 years. He is actively involved with the trading of the Two Settlement Market and Financial Transmission Rights in all of the major ISO/RTO systems. Mr. Tournois also has substantial management responsibilities at EPIC.
David T. Ellis -
Mr. Ellis joined EPIC in October 2007 as Chief Operating Officer. He brings to EPIC over thirty years of experience in the energy, manufacturing and aviation industries with expertise in general management, risk management, marketing, operations and engineering. Mr. Ellis recently oversaw the complete development of a power generation facility and the financial restructuring of a cogeneration business.
As Corporate Vice-President at Tenneco Inc., Mr. Ellis had responsibility for the company’s environment, health, safety, insurance, loss control, security and medical areas. He established and chaired the Tenneco Risk Management Council and directed the design and implementation of Tenneco’s EHS Management System. He directed the permitting of numerous projects worldwide and orchestrated comprehensive settlements with federal and state authorities related to large environmental remediation projects. He also led the expansive due diligence on more than $8.5 billion in acquisitions and divestitures.
As Vice-President of Marketing, Mr. Ellis was instrumental in transforming Tenneco Energy from a reactive, rate-based utility to a full-service, responsive company by implementing an Account Executive system centered on “added value” market development strategies. Mr. Ellis was part of the founding management team for Tenngasco, Tenneco’s highly successful unregulated gas marketing affiliate.
As Vice-President of Gas Management, he was responsible for Tenneco’s gas control, transportation allocation, measurement and operating network operations. This included overhauling Tenneco’s system for gathering real-time pipeline information and redesigning gas operations to accommodate regulatory “unbundling.”
Mr. Ellis received a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree in Environmental Health Engineering with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin. He was named to the Engineering Dean’s List for two years and awarded membership in the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.
Mr. Ellis has served on numerous industry Boards and Committees with AGA, INGAA, NEGA and The Conference Board. He currently serves as Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Bunker Hill Village and Commissioner for the Memorial Villages Police Department. He is the former Chairman of Avance, Inc.’s National Board of Directors where he continues to serve on the Executive Committee. Mr. Ellis is an avid pilot and an original board member of AirLifeline of Texas, Inc.
