Technology advisory firm of the year: KWA Analytics

Energy Risk Awards 2024: Tech firm’s focus on green markets and enabling new trading opportunities garners growth

Fred Reimer, KWA Analytics

In fast-evolving energy markets, ensuring energy trading and risk management (ETRM) systems are keeping pace with new products and enabling new trading opportunities has never been more important. A growing number of market participants have been turning to KWA Analytics, a global cross-asset consultancy and technical services provider, and winner of Energy Risk’s 2024 Technology advisory firm of the year award.

“Our clients have been pushing incumbent ETRM systems to further invest in renewables and certificates. They have also been looking for platforms that enable them to rapidly develop and deploy new solutions when market opportunities present themselves,” says Fred Reimer, managing director, Americas, at the firm.

“We have been guiding clients in the system evaluation process for renewables and certificates, and suggesting what should be core versus custom. We have also been creating solutions that enable clients to rapidly move into new markets,” he adds.

For example, Reimer cites supporting an oil major’s modernisation programme scaling its low carbon, biogas and biofuels business. “The carbon offset business is viewed as one of the top growth areas by the client and the establishment of a fit-for-purpose, scalable platform to support that growth strategy will allow it to execute its plans,” he says.

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The project involved utilising a single voluntary platform, introducing certificate-management solutions, building a strategic operational tool and a portfolio optimisation model. It provided a global exposure and profit and loss view, enabling the major to operate a global book with 24/7 trading.

Another project involved replacing a legacy ETRM system for wholesale gas and retail power. “We helped the client assess various options to determine their ETRM approach to replace their legacy vendor gas and in-house power ETRM systems,” says Will O’Brien, Houston-based executive vice-president of sales Americas.

KWA also supported the client with new technical initiatives around Kafka messaging and cloud-based deployment, as well as continuous integration/deployment processes. “The most challenging part of the process was the wide array of functional and technical areas that needed to be assessed, combined with running proof-of-concept programmes for the areas that needed key design decisions,” says Steve Parsons, UK-based director of technology.

On any ETRM implementation, smooth and timely roll-out is key. “The company has developed a number of packaged accelerator and interfacing tools that help our clients have more robust and efficient risk implementations,” says Parsons. “In addition to that, we’ve continued to deepen our quantitative development team globally, which has been instrumental in accelerating client go-lives.”

The firm can point to another year of strong growth. Reimer says the company has grown its client base by 20% over the past year or so, and increased its headcount by 27%, to nearly 250 staff members around the world.

KWA is also extending its vendor network, adding two more vendor partners, as well as deepening existing relationships. “While maintaining our independence for advisory purposes, we have continued to maintain very strong relationships with our existing partners over the past 12 months,” Reimer says. “We have invested heavily to develop more talent for these solutions.”