Why do you want to learn this contract- takes a certain "money" to trade it, are you planning working at a power company or start up or something ? There are few "jobs" in this area of expertise I know Nat Gas has the liquidity, power more complex and not paid out as well. check : http://www.redwolfenergytrading.com/ http://westoaksenergy.com/_.html
I have taken EMI courses and can speak to their quality. The 2-day courses are indeed intensive with very little time not spent deeply immersed in subject matter. The speakers are career professionals with rich experiences and insights into what they are teaching. OP, just read a book. There are plenty of electricity trading and risk management books out there.
My advice would be to try to get into a firm as a trading assistant. If the firm is doing strictly financially cleared products, you will likely be following up on ClearPort and ICE-LCH confirmations, and if they are executing through OTC brokerages, you might be monitoring the IM system or the turret system which has direct phone lines to the brokers. If the firm does some bilateral physical trading, you might be confirming trades with the counterparty, and making arrangements for transmission rights. Many smaller firms are trading hourly, bal day, and bal week contracts through hubs like PJM or Cinergy for example. You might be asked to run spreadsheets for them and to monitor generating stacks and weather. There's just so much "local knowledge", and the power trade can be so complex and segmented, that IMHO you shouldn't expect to just step into a risk position right away.
A friend of mine became an analyst at a wind power company and moved over to the trading desk after 6 months. They need someone to be on the desk 24/7 so now he gets to work every holiday and most weekends as the rookie.
Yep, I think that is the smartest way to work your way into power trading. It is a very complex trade with many different components, and there is no more volatile commodity that I am aware of. Very little published info on it as well. And the term traders have much different strategies than the prompt or hourly trades. I started at a major utility in the 90's during the off hours and worked my way into the forward term book. And then there is the transmission market....
you listed Houston as your location...UH has a energy program. If you want to live on a european Island you can try this... http://www.unic.ac.cy/bachelor-degrees/energy-oil-and-gas-management-4-years-bachelor-of-science-0
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Jack Schwager top trading books were and ARE amoung the top of list.Study/read them;; i still do..... ======================================== Futures magazine[stocks, derivatives...[they had a Rich Dennis interview, then years later, his partner......interview], past 5 years. I like the print version, they have a computerized version to traders ................................................................................They had a trader interview that he,actually taught a energy trade/invest college class i think, past 5 years................................ NOT a trade suggestion, especially since you are starting; how good are you with gasoline trends/writing down gasoline prices????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????.Most still drive a gasoline auto..... Kill 2 birds with one stone/shot. PS I seldom do emails or much writing, but wisdom is profitable to direct. I remember when i was a kid gasoline[gasoline ,leaded, LOL] was trending $00. 29.9 +/cents a gallon........................................................................................................., retail.