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Articles by Steve Piper
Export markets buoy US coal prices
Research — Oct 15, 2026 Export markets buoy US coal prices Coal market prices rallied in September, supported by firmer natural gas prices and strong export demand. US coal exports are expected to rise year over year, but overall volumes are expected to fall as domestic thermal demand remains sensitive to the price of gas. Elevated coal stockpiles in 2026 may further limit demand heading into 2027.
US coal production is trending lower year over year
Lower natural gas prices have persisted through peak summer months, favoring gas-fired generation over coal in the US, which has reduced thermal coal demand. This has been exacerbated by elevated coal stockpiles and seasonal shoulder-period weakness, further limiting domestic coal burn and shipments. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently forecast US total coal consumption to fall 8% year over year in 2026.
AI Increases Efficiency: What Happens When It Eliminates Customers?
Steve Piper, CISSP, is the founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group and Editor-in-Chief of Security Buzz. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer being used solely to make workers more productive. Increasingly, companies are using it to redesign how their organizations are structured. AI has been linked to job cuts across the industry. For any individual company, the logic is straightforward. AI can lower costs, improve margins and increase productivity. The decision is rational, and investors reward it.
Slack demand, surging inventory pressurize US coal prices
Domestic coal producers cited cost pressures and low demand as factors reducing earnings during the first quarter of 2026. Asia-Pacific demand for coking and thermal coal may help close the gap, but energy markets remain unsettled as the Hormuz crisis eases. Higher stockpiles coming out of the spring months worked to pressurize US prices in June.
US Power Outlook: How Surging Demand Is Reshaping the Generation Puzzle
By Steve Piper and Adam Wilson The North American power sector is navigating a transformation driven by unprecedented electricity demand from data centers, industrial growth, and economy-wide electrification. The old paradigm of choosing between low-cost or dispatchable power has been replaced by a complex matrix where grid operators must balance cost, reliability, and emissions across a diverse and evolving technology landscape.
When Trust Becomes The Vulnerability: Deepfakes Are Forcing A Rethink Of Defense
Steve Piper, CISSP, is the founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group and Editor-in-Chief of Security Buzz. Deepfakes are accelerating the breakdown of trust in phone and video calls, two of the most relied‑upon channels in corporate workflows. Attackers combine speed and scale to exploit these communication channels faster than organizations can verify trust.
Four in Five IT Security Pros Believe AI May Cost Them Their Jobs, Finds CyberEdge Group’s 2026 Cyberthreat Defense Report
Fort Lauderdale, FL, April 30, 2026 --(PR.com)-- CyberEdge Group today announced the release of its 13th annual Cyberthreat Defense Report (CDR), a comprehensive global study capturing the perspectives of 1,200 IT security professionals across 17 countries and 19 industries. The 2026 report reveals a cybersecurity landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), workforce transformation, and escalating threat sophistication.
The Human Factor: Closing Cybersecurity's Most Dangerous Gap
Steve Piper, CISSP, is the founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group and Editor-in-Chief of Security Buzz. For years, cybersecurity strategy has centered on hardening networks, filtering malicious code and protecting endpoints. But despite significant advances in technical defenses, attackers continue to succeed by targeting people instead of systems.
Voice: The New Cyberattack Surface
Steve Piper, CISSP, is the founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group and Editor-in-Chief of Security Buzz. It’s no longer enough to defend against AI-powered email phishing campaigns. Spurred by hardened defenses for endpoints and email, cybercriminals have pivoted from traditional phishing campaigns to double down on the one channel with limited defense—the telephone. To be sure, voice phishing isn’t new. Fraudsters have been impersonating help desk staff, government regulators and executives for years.
US export coal extends rally to close out 2025
US coal market prices edged higher in December, extending a steady rally dating back to October. The gains to year-end 2025 accrued mainly to export benchmarks. Through 2027, firm natural gas prices are expected to support increased coal generation, driving stable or growing coal production. After 2027, the US coal market is forecast to face pressure from the expansion of zero-carbon electricity, incentivized in part by broad-based tax credits.
Considerations to make before you switch your life insurance cover
By: Steve Piper is the head of intermediary sales at Hollard Life Solutions Life insurance is an essential element of building a sound financial future and as such policyholders should keep up to-date with what their policies provide, says Hollard Life Solutions head of underwritten intermediary sales, Steve Piper. The life insurance market is dynamic, with consumers motivated by many factors when deciding on whether to stay or switch their insurance policies.
Projected PJM load increase signals obstacles on path to net-zero
On Dec. 8, 2021, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order putting the full weight of the federal government behind a goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050, adding to the international effort to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C from preindustrial levels. The Q42023 Market Intelligence Power Forecast projects a 90% decarbonized US power sector by the end of 2043 if renewable curtailment is recaptured and gas is converted to hydrogen where there is renewable power.
Council Post: Debunking Three Myths About Ransomware
Steve Piper, CISSP, is an information security author, researcher, instructor, and analyst and is the founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group. getty Over the years, variants of ransomware have grown in both number and sophistication. According to the 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report by IBM Security, the average cost of a successful ransomware attack is a staggering $4.54 million, not including the cost of the ransom itself.
Q1’21 U.S. Power Forecast
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence Q1 Power Forecast, battery storage costs continue to benefit from the growing economies of scale for lithium-ion technology. With estimated stand-alone storage costs declining by 15% to $94/kW-yr, the premium of storage compared to conventional gas peaking generation is shrinking to the point where storage can compete head-to-head in the resource adequacy market while optimizing intermittent generation.
Brace For Impact: The Transition To A Green Grid Could Be Rough
While the Eastern Interconnect is mostly well-supplied, ERCOT and the West look tighter. Spark spreads move lower and mild summer demand While the summer of 2018 featured strong wholesale electricity prices and robust spark spreads, this past summer mostly reverted to form, with milder weather across most of the country reducing spark spreads year-over-year. New York, New England and the U.S. West Coast saw the largest declines while Midwest declines were more modest.
Power Forecast Analysis: Momentum For New Gas Generation Builds In The Midwest
Near-term spark spreads decline on mild weather Mild spring weather compared to 2018 drove electricity demand substantially lower across major markets, which had knock-on effects as well for natural gas demand and prices. This combination of factors pushed spot prices for electricity down across virtually all markets during the second quarter.
US Domestic Coal Markets Quiet As Summer Demand Lags
Domestic coal prices were mixed during August, with domestic benchmarks rallying modestly on natural gas pricing, while export benchmarks were mixed. The NYMEX CAPP benchmark traded flat at $49.40/ton, while NAPP Pittsburgh Seam 13,000 Btu per pound rallied $3.05/ton (6.1%) to end the month at $51.35/ton. Thermal export-driven 12,500 Btu per pound CSX coal fell $3.15/ton (4.9%) to $61.45/ton.
Power Forecast Analysis: What Lies Ahead For U.S. Power Generation In 2019
Generation investment signals grow across several regions Outright spark spreads declined year-over-year for the fourth quarter, as surging natural gas outpaced growth in power prices. Implied spark spreads in forward markets benched higher, indicating a profitable investment environment for new generation across several markets. Tighter reserves are driving prices in the key merchant markets of PJM and ERCOT, while fuel supply concerns are emerging in New England and Southern California.
Power Forecast Analysis: As Generation Shortages Develop, Can Green Energy Fill The Gap?
Generation investment signals grow across several regions Outright spark spreads declined year-over-year for the fourth quarter, as surging natural gas outpaced growth in power prices. Implied spark spreads in forward markets benched higher, indicating a profitable investment environment for new generation across several markets. Tighter reserves are driving prices in the key merchant markets of PJM and ERCOT, while fuel supply concerns are emerging in New England and Southern California.
Advisers: Here’s how to bust the myths around Income Protection
By Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at Bidvest Life As financial advisers, you’re in the business of asking your clients the tough questions. Like: ‘If you couldn’t work because of injury or illness, how would you manage financially?’ For most people, the answer is simple: they wouldn’t. And yet, relatively few South Africans have taken steps to protect their incomes.
Council Post: Four Critical Risks To Watch As Experts Predict A Cyber Cold War
Steve Piper, CISSP, is an information security author, researcher, instructor, and analyst and is the Founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group. In a backdrop of global geopolitical instability, cyber expert Nicolas Chaillan, the former chief software officer for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, recently noted that the world has reached a point where cyberspace is approaching a modern cold war.
Delivering personalised advice in the digital age
By Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at Bidvest Life For many South African independent financial advisers (IFAs), Covid-19 disruptions saw them having to interact digitally with their clients for the first time. Now, virtual interactions with customers have become a standard expectation from many policyholders – and it might just be exactly the incentive the adviser community needs to embrace a more digital way of working, with massive benefits for everyone in the value chain.
Opportunity for Independent Financial Advisers awaits with FMI
Reading Time: < 1 minute By Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at FMI Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at FMI I’d like to call on all Independent Financial Advisers to join us for our virtual event: OPPORTUNITY AWAITS. At FMI, a new world is calling us. The future holds a world of possibilities. It’s time to heed the call and start a new journey together; opportunity awaits.
Council Post: Addressing The Next Front In Cybersecurity: Enterprise Firmware
Steve Piper, CISSP, is an information security author, researcher, instructor, and analyst and is the Founder and CEO of CyberEdge Group. getty It's 2022. Do you know where your firmware is? Or what's in it? Enterprise firmware has long been ignored by the security industry. However, it's not been ignored by cyberattackers who, by compromising firmware, can subvert traditional security controls and silently persist without detection — even after a system wipe.
Q2 Power Forecast Snapshot: Amid A Pandemic, Green Electricity Charts A Course Forward
Emerging storage sector could address both resource adequacy and green mandates Demand losses compress merchant spark spreads in an unprecedented second quarter Demand losses associated with economic contraction and pandemic mitigation measures impacted spark spreads during the second quarter, a period when spark spreads are seasonally weak to begin with. Virtually every market had spark spread declines, with key power hubs trading in single digits.
STEVE PIPER: Relationships and building trust between clients and advisers more vital than ever
In the Business Beyond Covid series, CEOs and other business leaders and experts in their sectors look to the future after Covid-19. What effect has the pandemic and resulting lockdown had on their industries and the SA economy as a whole? Which parts will bounce back first and which will never be the same again? Most importantly, they try to answer the question: where to from here?
Your business, as a financial adviser, is service-centric
Reading Time: 3 minutes By: Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at FMI (a Division of Bidvest Life Ltd Steve Piper, Chief Distribution Officer at FMI (a Division of Bidvest Life Ltd) In a recent report conducted by NMG1, 78% of advisers are concerned by COVID-19’s impact on the advice industry. Advisers cited delays in completion of new business; proactive advice revenue decreasing; difficulty sourcing new clients; and policy lapses due to affordability as key business challenges.
Power Forecast Briefing: Fleet Transformation, Under-Powered Markets, and Green Energy in 2018
Watch: Power Forecast Briefing: Fleet Transformation, Under-Powered Markets, and Green Energy in 2018 Steve Piper shares Power Forecast insights and a recap of recent events in the US power markets in Q4 of 2017. Watch our video for power generation trends and forecasts for utilities in 2018.
Power Forecast Briefing: Capacity Shortfalls to Test the Renewable Energy Transition
Watch: Power Forecast Briefing: Capacity Shortfalls to Test the Renewable Energy Transition Steve Piper shares the latest Power Forecast analysis highlighting challenges ERCOT, the Desert Southwest, and CAISO may face during their rapid transition from conventional to renewable forms of power production over the next 5 years.
Forward Spark Spreads Suggest Rising Profitability Of US Renewables As Sector Matures
Apr. 10 2019 — Wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) electric facilities only account for an estimated 11% of US generation, but they are fast closing on a tipping point where they may outperform conventional generation as an asset class. Several factors have come together to drive this result, starting with a rapid decline in costs for new renewable facilities, both wind and solar, that has offset the advantage to natural gas generation brought about by abundant and economical supply.
Forward spark spreads suggest rising profitability of US renewables as sector matures
Ahead of the S&P Global Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas, April 8-10, 2019, The Barrel presents a series of articles on the global and US electricity sectors. In this last post of the series, Steve Piper analyzes S&P Global Market Intelligence data to show that renewables are increasingly able to compete with conventional generation.
Power Forecast Briefing Examines How Three Key U.S. Power Markets Are Impacted by Retiring Capacity
Aug. 22 2018 — Greg Hertrich, managing director and head of U.S. depository strategies at Nomura, believes deposit competition should intensify further as interest rates move higher and a handful of large banks roll out national deposit platforms. He discussed how other banks could follow the move and how higher rates are one of rising risk factors that could challenge credit quality.
Coal Production Finishes Year Strong as Challenging 2015 Looms
December 2014 coal markets were mixed on the month, with eastern coal caught in the rout that has broadly affected energy commodities on slowing global economic growth and weak winter demand. The NYMEX CAPP prompt-month shed $5.45/ton, or 10%, ahead of the holiday season while physical markers showed little movement on light trading. In sharp contrast, NYMEX PRB gained $1.20/ton, or 9.5%, as continued inventory rebuilding supported steady production and incremental spot purchases.
Coal/Gas Switching May Hit a
During several months in 2015, the market share of natural gas generation exceeded that of coal-fired generation as a combination of mild heating season weather and retirement of coal plants nudged natural gas into the lead position. If 2015 represented a turning point in this respect, 2016 is poised to become an all-out rout, with significant consequences for both fuel markets over the next few years.
Quarterly Power Forecast Guidance Document
Mild weather in the Eastern U.S. and continued downward pressure from natural gas prices brought mixed fortunes for generation markets in the fourth quarter of 2015. SNL Energy's most recent Power Forecast identifies certain spots and clarifies the potential impact of recent developments. * In the East, generators in PJM and MISO with access to inexpensive shale gas are set to experience increased margins, relative to their peers in the Northeast.
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