I’m pleased to introduce this Financing US Power issue of Platts Insight. According to a survey by Platts Global Power Report, financial players have been snapping up power generating assets at an accelerated pace over the past several months, hitting a total value of nearly $13 billion of announced and closed deals.

“There is a fundamental shift under way in the electric power industry. Financial institutions are becoming owners of the nation’s generating plants. In aggregate they own as much as some of the largest utilities,” said Peter Maloney, chief editor of Global Power Report.

This issue of Insight examines this sea change and related developments through the perspectives of a distinguished group of contributing authors who also spoke at this year’s Platts Financing US Power Conference.

Insight is the print companion to many of Platts’ key events. For each event, Insight elaborates on topics discussed at the conference, from the opening keynote address to the final session, in articles written by recognized leaders in the field.

Copies of this issue also will be sent to more than 7,000 industry professionals, including attendees of Platts Financing US Power Conference, and to subscribers of selected Platts publications—Global Power Report, Energy Economist, and Power Markets Week. If you’re looking for ways to reach precisely targeted conference audiences with information about business, industrial, or technical products and services, Insight offers a high-profile forum for addressing industry issues that are important to each event’s audience on a daily basis.

We’ll be publishing additional issues of Insight throughout the year in conjunction with other major events. If you’d like to learn more about those other issues, visit our web site at www.events.platts.com.

I hope you enjoy this issue of Platts Insight.