Baltimore was the first city outside England to adopt gas street lights (London in 1807 was the world’s first) and the first in the United States. Today, seeing natural gas at $1.90 d/th maybe we will get a few returning!

It was Rembrandt Peale — a member of the noted family of artists — who dazzled guests to his Holliday Street home in 1816, now the Peale Museum that is undergoing restoration, when he demonstrated a “ring beset with gems of light” that he used to illuminate his gallery of artwork. He stated: “Gas lights, without oil, tallow, wick or smoke.” His home was the first in Baltimore to be illuminated by gaslight, and he and four other Baltimoreans founded the Gas Light Co. of Baltimore on June 13, 1816, forerunner of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., and the first in the Western hemisphere. Street Lighting followed soon after in the city.

Back then the use of natural gas was in its infancy, today it is an abundant, invaluable source of fuel for heating, power generation and the production of chemicals, which is one of the largest consumers.

So, while gaslighting has been replaced in all but historic locations by electricity, it is more than likely that natural gas is powering the generators that produce it.

Huge discoveries of shale gas deposits have more than doubled reserves and a result more than halved prices – for now. To take advantage of low market rates, you need to buy forward, but few companies want to commit in case something changes with prices, their business or the economic climate.

That’s why organizations are looking to dynamic risk management for energy procurement. Using a proprietary solution from Vervantis, clients are able to transact through both fixing and unfixing of energy, so you fix everything 100% today, but if prices fall in the future – you can take advantage.

The solution uses the same risk measurement processes you’ll find in suppliers and banks to keep positions controlled and optimized with transactions made through the same supplier agreements you’re used to.  Value at Risk (VaR) is run daily by our energy risk management specialists to make sure you don’t take more risk than authorized. Currently, you don’t know this value and will most likely be taking much more risk as a result.

If you feel illuminated by our risk management solutions and want to learn more, you can connect with us here or call one of our risk management experts now: 1-888-988-5474