Energy CROs committee set for public launch next week

The Committee of CROs, a body of energy company chief risk officers, will publicly launch next week. The committee has brought forward its formal creation due to the volume of industry enquiries following RiskNews' story US risk officers move to form powerful standards committee .

Sources close to the development said a press release will be issued outlining the founding members on Tuesday or Wednesday. It will also lay out the group’s aims and working practices.

Three confirmed founding members are: Richard Osborne, CRO of Duke Energy; Mike Smith, CRO of Mirant; and Bob Stibolt, CRO of Tractebel North America. Another three founding members will be unveiled next week, but are believed to be John Collins, CRO of Constellation Energy Group, Patric Simpkins, CRO of TXU Energy, and Scott Smith, CRO of American Electric Power.

A number of other participants from other energy companies have also joined the committee.

The group was informally created in February after several CROs decided to form a more tangible alternative forum to the conversations they were having at industry meetings.

The committee already has group meetings, with the chair rotating between the six founders. It also has four working parties seeking to create best practice recommendations in credit, disclosure, valuation and metrics, and corporate governance and control. Two co-chairs head the working parties, and no company is allowed to have more than one co-chair.