The CFTC’s recently implemented a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding position limits pursuant to Section 737 of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Drs. Morris and Fowdur submitted comments concerning the proposed amendments to the definition of the bona fide hedge exemption and addressed the practical relevance of some of the proposed rules. They noted that certain changes are needed in order to allow entities to hedge. As written, the rules may place more restrictions on end-users than are necessary to meet the goals of the Dodd-Frank Act to restrict excessive speculation.
Dr. Morris leads the energy practice at EI and has consulted on many matters involving energy companies, including merger filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the antitrust agencies, applications for market-based rates, competitive issues relating to rate design, alleged market manipulation and monopolization claims. Dr. Fowdur joined EI in 2009 and has worked on competition matters involving mergers of electric and gas companies, assessed market power issues for applications for market-rate authority, analyzed claims of anti-competitive conduct in energy markets, and studied the hedging practices of energy companies. Read full article.