After the first full week of trading, Altra Energy Technologies’new online power trading platform, Altrade Power, has been an”absolute” success, the company said last week. The new system,which started service Oct. 14, has already performed transactionstotaling two million MWh.

“We are very pleased,” said Stephanie Pletka, an Altraspokeswoman. “On the first day, we traded 260,000 MWh. By the thirdday, we traded one million MWh. It just keeps growing and hasbeen very successful.” Since its inception, 450 traders requestedthe system and 250 installed users have logged on, Pletka said.

Unlike Bloomberg’s PowerMatch, which offers live help fortechnical assistance but only performs electronic transactions,Altrade Power enables a trader to choose between clicking a mouse,or using one of the two brokerage firms partnering with Altra toprovide the service, Amerex and Prebon Energy, to complete thetransaction.

“We offer flexibility,” Mark Crosno, president of Altra’sElectronic Trading Services division, told NGI last week. “As theonline business grows, so will the complexity of the transactions.Traders want the ease of an electronic transaction, but also wantthe clarity of dealing with live brokers when performing complexdeals. We offer both.” He added that through the alliance, AltradePower offers complete industry coverage with access to over 700counterparties at more than 150 of the industry’s leading tradingfirms.

“Electronic power trading is causing a migration from phonebrokers,” Crosno continued. “They see this migration, and byjoining us, Prebon and Amerex are adding a very significant tool totheir tool box. Voice brokers won’t go away because of onlinetrading, but we now offer both options from one spot.”

Crosno said it is unfair to compare the launch of its gastrading system to the launch of this power trading system because”when we launched the gas platform, the Internet was an unknowncommodity to many traders. Now, we have knowledgeable, aggressivepeople who not only perform their business on the Internet, but dotheir shopping on it as well.”

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