Nymex To Launch New Electricity Futures Swap Contract

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., announced today that it will introduce a New England swap futures contract on NYMEX ClearPort^sm on October 31 for the November 1 trading session.

The contract will be available for trading on the NYMEX ClearPort^sm trading platform from 7 PM Sundays through 2:30 PM Fridays, with a 45–minute break each day between 2:30 PM and 3:15 PM. Off–Exchange transactions can also be submitted solely for clearing through NYMEX ClearPort^sm.

The contract will initially be listed for December 2004 through December 2007. It will be cash–settled against day-ahead peak locational marginal prices for the ISO New England internal hub.

Each contract will be for 40 megawatt hours times the number of peak days in the contract month. As part of the Exchange's liquidity provider program on NYMEX ClearPortsm, any trader who makes a bid or offer that is subsequently accepted will receive $1.20 per contract. Consistent with the Exchange's recently implemented program for its other electricity contracts, there will be no fee for the participant on the other side of the trade.

The trading symbol is NI.

Exchange President James E. Newsome said, "We currently have more than 69,000 contracts of open interest in our electricity complex and are very enthusiastic about expanding the product base and risk management tools we offer to that industry."