Juan Manuel Gers, Experto internacional, Gers USA Jornada Académica Andesco “Retos y Oportunidades del Tratado de Libre Comercio –TLC- entre Colombia y Estados Unidos para el sector de Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios y TIC”

1. ¿Por qué el TLC entre Colombia y EEUU ofrece nuevas
oportunidades para los productos y servicios nacionales?
Juan Manuel Gers, PhD
1

2. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE U.S. ELECTRICITY
MARKET
Juan Manuel Gers, PhD
May 29, 2012
2

3. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

4. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

5. Free Trade Agreement
The FTA between USA and COLOMBIA
formally entered into force last 15th of May
2012. “We welcome today’s signing of the FTA,
which brings Colombia and the United States
one step closer to the entry into force of this
historic agreement.
The FTA is a fundamental building block in the
development of a new chapter in U.S.-
Colombia relations, and will help to expand
both of our economies, exports and job
creation opportunities," said Colombian
Ambassador to the U.S. Gabriel Silva.

6. General aspects about the US Power Industry
 The US power industry The Energy Information Association (EIA),
part of the Department of Energy, has described the electric power
industry as one of the largest and most creditworthy in the US, with an
estimated end-user market of nearly $254bn of electricity sales in
2011.
 The delivery of electricity to retail, commercial and industrial consumers
was historically handled by large integrated utilities, which provided
generation, transmission and distribution services in monopoly
franchise areas. Now the situation is changing and more players are
participating in the market.

7. Most Important Institutions in the
U.S. Electricity Industry
The US Electricity Industry has several government and
private institutions that oversee its operation and define its
policies and rules. Among them, the most important
policymakers are:
 The U.S. Congress
 FERC – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
 NERC – North American Reliability Council
 NAESB – North American Energy Standards Board
 State Public Utility Commissions and Legislatures

8. Most Important Policymakers
NERC Members and Sub-Regions
ECAR-East Central Area Reliability
Coordination Agreement
ERCOT-Electric Reliability Council of
Texas
FRCC-Florida Reliability Coordination
Council
MACC-Mid-Atlantic Area Council
MAIN-Mid-America Interconnected
Network
MAPP-Mid-Continent Area Power
Pool
NPCC-Northeast Power Coordinating
Council
SERC-Southeastern Electric Reliability
Council
SPP-Southwest Power Pool
WECC-Western Electricity
Coordination Council

9. Overview of the Electric Industry in
the United States
The U.S. electric system
 Over 200 million customers participating in an deregulated market
 Over 3200 utilities
 Over 16,802 generators in commercial operation
 Over 161,000 miles of transmission lines (230 kV and above)

10. Transmission System Infrastructure
U.S. High Voltage Transmission System
Voltage Miles of Transmission Line
AC
230 kV 76,762
345 kV 49,250
500 kV 26,038
765 kV 2,453
Total AC 154,503
DC
250-300 kV 930
400 kV 852
450 kV 192
500 kV 1,333
Total DC 3,307
Total AC + DC 157,810
Source: NERC

11. Restructuring
The transition period for phasing in restructuring has begun in these states, and they are These states have passed legislation suspending the
currently implementing a competitive electric utility market for investor-owned utilities. restructuring process.
These states are continuing to study and/or monitor restructuring investor-owned utilities, These states have passed legislation delaying the restructuring
but are not currently pursuing further action. process.
These states have completed studies investigating restructuring investor-owned utilities These states have passed legislation repealing the restructuring
(power providers), and have decided not to pursue further action at this time. process.

12. U.S. Electric Industry Generating Capacity by State
in 2009
There are roughly 5,000 power plants in the United
States, and they have a total generating capacity of
nearly 1025 gigawatts

13. Generating Capacity
U.S. Net Summer Capacity by
U.S. Existing Capacity by Energy Sources, 2009
Energy Sources, Year-End 2009 Existing Capacity by Energy Source, 2009
(Megawatts)
Number of Nameplate Net Summer Net Winter
Energy Source
Generators Capacity Capacity Capacity
Coal[1] 1,436 338,723 314,294 316,363
Petroleum[2] 3,757 63,254 56,781 60,878
Natural Gas[3] 5,470 459,803 401,272 432,309
Other Gases[4] 98 2,218 1,932 1,899
Nuclear 104 106,618 101,004 102,489
Hydroelectric
4,005 77,910 78,518 78,127
Conventional[5]
Wind 620 34,683 34,296 34,350
Solar Thermal and
110 640 619 537
Photovoltaic
Wood and Wood
353 7,829 6,939 6,992
Derived Fuels[6]
Geothermal 222 3,421 2,382 2,561
Other Biomass[7] 1,502 5,007 4,317 4,382
Pumped Storage 151 20,538 22,160 22,063
Other[8] 48 1,042 888 900
Total 17,876 1,121,686 1,025,400 1,063,848
Source: Energy Information Administration

14. U.S. Electric Industry Net Generation by State in
2009

15. Energy Sources
2500
Note : Blast furnace gas, propane gas, and other
manufactured and waste gases derived from fossil
2000 1933 fuels resulting in net generation of 11.466 thousand
Million Megawatthours
megawatt-hours are not included. An additional 5.714
thousand megawatt-hours , not shown here , were
1500 generated from "Other" energy sources.
1000
780
691
500
256
95 87
0
Coal Nuclear Natural Gas Hydroelectric Petroleum Other
Renewables

16. Investment
Transmission System Investment

17. Planning
Planned Transmission by Interconnection and NERC Member
Transmission Circuit Miles – 230 kV and Above
2005 Existing 2006-2010 Additions 2011-2015 Additions 2015 Total Installed
United States
ERCOT 8,311 648 - 8,959
FRCC 6,998 350 127 7,475
MRO 15,912 1,382 272 17,566
NPCC 6,426 364 16 6,806
New England 2,493 273 16 2,782
New York 3,933 91 - 4,024
RFC 26,258 592 - 26,85
SERC 31,179 1,292 947 33,418
Entergy 2,666 94 - 2,76
Gateway 5,037 151 268 5,456
Southern 1,897 111 - 2,008
TVA 9,405 350 513 10,268
VACAR 12,174 586 166 12,926
SPP 7,592 14 21 7,627
WECC 58,539 3,063 1,821 63,423
AZ-NM-SNV 10,271 835 1,471 12,577
CA-MX-US 17,676 790 - 18,466
NWPP-US 24,671 704 350 25,725
RMPA 5,921 734 - 6,655
Total-U.S. 161,215 7,705 3,204 172,124
Canada
MRO 6,73 303 65 7,098
NPCC 28,998 603 - 29,601
Maritimes 2,196 60 - 2,256
Ontario 11,137 95 - 11,232
Québec 15,665 448 - 16,113
WECC 11,019 416 233 11,668
Total-Canada 46,747 1,322 298 48,367
Mexico
WECC 638 152 192 982
Total-NERC 208,56 9,179 3,694 221,433
Source: NERC

18. Blackout of August 14, 2003
The blackout started in Northern Ohio and spreaded throughout Midwest, Northeast
U.S. And Canada
61,800 MW of power lost
Shutdown 265 power plants with 508 individual units

19. Recommendations
Task Force issued 46 recommendations grouped into four categories:
 Institutional Issues Related to Reliability (14 recommendations)
 Support and Strengthen NERC’s actions of February 10, 2004
(17 recommendations)
 Physical and Cyber Security of North American Bulk Power Systems
(13 recommendations)
 Canadian Nuclear Power Sector (2 recommendations)

20. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

21. US Map

22. Selection Criteria
84. ¿Cuáles son los estados de EE.UU. a donde Colombia podrá
expandirse en el tema de servicios?
Teniendo en cuenta la estrecha relación entre el flujo migratorio de
colombianos en Estados Unidos y el crecimiento del comercio bilateral de
bienes y servicios, se identificó que los Estados más representativos para
el comercio de servicios profesionales son New York, New Jersey,
California, Texas, Florida y el Distrito de Columbia.
Precisamente, fue esa identificación de Estados lo que impulsó a
establecer compromisos más específicos en materia de facilitación para la
prestación de servicios profesionales.

23. Selection Criteria
The following parameters were considered to be the most
representative:
 Population
 GSP
 State income tax
 Income tax
 Housing construction permits
 Unemployment rate

24. Selection of attractive states for the electrical sector
of Colombia based on general criteria
Gross State Product Total Income Tax Housing Unemployment
STATE Weighted Population (GSP) Burden Sales Tax Construction Permits Rate
ITEM Abv Name Rank Inhabitants Ranking Billions Ranking Tax Ranking Tax Rank Permits Ranking Rate Ranking
U.S. (Avg or Total) 290.809.777 25% 10.137,2 30% 27,80% 20% 4,8% 5% 1.889.214 10% 4,20% 10%
1 TX Texas 8,55 22.118.509 2 763,9 3 26,80% 25 4,0% 3 177.194 3 4,60% 17
2 CA California 9,70 35.484.453 1 1.359,3 1 28,40% 41 0,0% 1 191.948 2 5,20% 7
3 FL Florida 11,80 17.019.068 4 491,5 4 27,00% 26 5,6% 26 213.567 1 3,90% 30
4 PA Pennsylvania 12,35 12.365.455 6 408,4 6 26,50% 22 5,1% 23 47.356 12 4,40% 23
5 NY New York 13,75 19.190.115 3 826,5 2 32,30% 51 2,9% 2 49.708 11 5,20% 10
6 NC North Carolina 14,70 8.407.248 11 275,6 12 26,40% 19 0,0% 1 79.226 5 3,20% 40
7 TN Tennessee 15,30 5.841.748 16 182,5 18 25,10% 4 4,0% 4 37.530 20 4,00% 29
8 OH Ohio 15,55 11.435.798 7 373,7 7 27,50% 34 6,0% 28 53.041 10 4,30% 25
9 IL Illinois 15,80 12.653.544 5 475,5 5 27,90% 38 7,3% 47 62.211 7 4,30% 24
10 GA Georgia 15,90 8.684.715 9 299,9 10 27,30% 30 6,0% 29 96.704 4 4,00% 28
11 MI Michigan 16,25 10.079.985 8 320,5 9 27,40% 31 5,8% 27 53.913 9 3,80% 31
12 AL Alabama 18,40 4.500.752 23 121,5 25 25,00% 2 5,0% 15 22.256 26 4,80% 14
13 NJ New Jersey 18,45 8.638.396 10 365,4 8 29,90% 48 4,0% 5 32.984 21 4,60% 16
14 LA Louisiana 19,60 4.496.334 24 148,7 24 25,40% 7 5,3% 24 22.220 27 5,10% 11
15 MO Missouri 19,75 5.704.484 17 181,5 19 25,90% 12 6,0% 30 29.309 23 3,40% 36
16 SC South Carolina 19,95 4.147.152 25 115,2 28 25,10% 3 5,0% 16 38.191 19 4,50% 20
17 IN Indiana 20,35 6.195.643 14 189,9 16 26,70% 23 6,0% 31 39.421 18 3,00% 41
18 AR Arizona 20,80 5.580.811 18 160,7 23 27,20% 29 5,0% 18 74.996 6 4,40% 21
19 VA Virginia 20,95 7.386.330 12 273,1 13 27,40% 32 6,3% 39 55.936 8 2,80% 49
20 WA Washington 21,25 6.131.445 15 223,0 14 28,80% 44 6,0% 32 42.825 14 4,70% 15
Sources and dates:
Population: US Census Bureau, 2003
Gross State Product: US Department of Commerce, 2001
Total State Tax Burden: The Tax Foundation, 2004
New Housing Construction Permits: US Census Bureau, 2003
Unemployment Rate: US Census Bureau, 2000

25. Attractive states according to first selection

26. Selection Criteria
The following parameters were considered to be the most
representative for the second selection:
 Number of utilities
 Number of Customers
 KWh Cost
 Generation Capacity
 Load Demand
 Consumption Per Capita
 Total Income Tax
 Gross State Product

27. Final selection of attractive states considering
aspects associated to the electricity market
Net Generation Consumption Total Income Gross State
STATE Utilities Customers Cost of KWh Summer Load Per Capita Tax Product (GSP)
Weighted MWh /
ITEM Abv Name Rank Qty Rank Qty Rank U.S. cents Rank MW Rank (MWh) Rank Person Rank Tax Rank Billions Rank
U.S. (Avg or Total) 3211 10% 131,840,027 10% 7.09 15% 953,178 10% 3,462,520,834 20% 11.91 10% 27.80% 10% 10,137.2 15%
1 TX Texas 4.15 184 1 10,266,976 2 6.62 10 100,136 1 320,845,849 1 14.51 7 26.80% 9 763.9 3
2 FL Florida 6.25 53 14 8,533,279 3 7.31 5 49,336 3 210,473,530 3 12.37 13 27.00% 10 491.5 4
3 CA California 6.30 45 16 13,546,442 1 12.52 1 59,589 2 235,248,942 2 6.63 20 28.40% 17 1,359.3 1
4 PA Pennsylvania 7.20 59 13 5,229,651 6 7.97 4 42,725 5 140,786,670 6 11.39 14 26.50% 7 408.4 6
5 NY New York 7.60 62 11 7,486,228 4 10.89 2 37,375 6 143,563,666 5 7.48 19 32.30% 20 826.5 2
6 OH Ohio 7.80 119 3 4,606,566 8 6.55 11 34,088 8 155,999,230 4 13.64 9 27.50% 15 373.7 7
7 IL Illinois 8.10 77 8 5,393,586 5 7.01 7 45,675 4 137,665,583 7 10.88 16 27.90% 16 475.5 5
8 NC North Carolina 8.60 108 5 4,315,789 9 6.74 9 27,188 12 122,686,468 9 14.59 6 26.40% 6 275.6 11
9 GA Georgia 9.20 98 6 4,071,484 10 6.24 12 36,512 7 123,789,078 8 14.25 8 27.30% 12 299.9 10
10 MI Michigan 10.45 61 12 4,682,066 7 6.99 8 30,374 9 107,310,696 10 10.65 17 27.40% 14 320.5 9
11 IN Indiana 11.70 119 4 2,934,676 13 5.34 20 25,747 14 101,428,550 11 16.37 5 26.70% 8 189.9 14
12 TN Tennessee 12.05 91 7 2,896,050 14 5.72 18 20,827 17 98,233,027 13 16.82 4 25.10% 3 182.5 15
13 AL Alabama 12.50 63 9 2,317,229 18 5.71 19 29,946 10 83,067,078 14 18.46 2 25.00% 1 121.5 19
14 VA Virginia 13.15 35 19 3,238,175 12 6.22 13 21,239 16 100,540,736 12 13.61 10 27.40% 13 273.1 12
15 MO Missouri 13.30 136 2 2,883,323 15 6.09 14 19,916 19 75,000,629 18 13.15 11 25.90% 5 181.5 16
16 LA Louisiana 13.75 40 18 2,110,768 20 5.99 15 26,048 13 79,260,989 15 17.63 3 25.40% 4 148.7 18
17 SC South Carolina 14.10 47 15 2,144,820 19 5.83 16 20,641 18 77,819,392 16 18.76 1 25.10% 2 115.2 20
18 NJ New Jersey 14.25 14 20 3,698,416 11 9.32 3 18,710 20 74,460,421 19 8.62 18 29.90% 19 365.4 8
19 WA Washington 14.60 63 10 2,837,916 16 5.73 17 27,666 11 76,491,883 17 12.48 12 28.80% 18 223.0 13
20 AR Arizona 14.95 45 17 2,351,763 17 7.21 6 23,559 15 62,600,737 20 11.22 15 27.20% 11 160.7 17

28. Selected states according to the second selection
criteria

29. Working Schemes

30. Modes of supplying services defined by GATS
Criteria Supplier Presence
Mode 1: Cross- Service delivered within the territory of the Member, from the
border supply territory of another Member
Service supplier not present within the
Mode 2: Service delivered outside the territory of the Member, in the territory of the member
Consumption territory of another Member, to a service consumer of the
abroad Member
Mode 3: Service delivered within the territory of the Member, through
Commercial the commercial presence of the supplier
presence
Service supplier present within the
territory of the Member
Mode 4: Service delivered within the territory of the Member, with
Presence of a supplier present as a natural person
natural person
Note: From the document MTN.GNS/W/124, available on the World Trade Organization Website, posted courtesy of ISTIA

31. Modes of supplying services defined by GATS
87. ¿Cómo explicarles a los profesionales colombianos, las formas como
podrán prestar sus servicios?
Los prestadores de servicios colombianos podrán hacerlo de cuatro modos. El
primero se refiere al “suministro transfronterizo”, o el caso donde lo que se traslada
es el servicio. En este caso, ni el consumidor ni el prestador se desplazan al otro
territorio; un ejemplo es el envío de una consultoría, la atención de llamadas de call
centers, y la telemedicina.
También se puede exportar a través del modo 2, denominado “consumo en el
extranjero”, que se presenta cuando el consumidor se desplaza al otro país a
recibir el servicio; el mejor ejemplo en este caso es el turismo. Así mismo, el modo
3 que se refiere a la “presencia comercial”, o cuando se desplaza es el capital
como puede ser una filial de una empresa. Este se relaciona con la inversión
extranjera directa y se encuentra cubierto en el Capítulo de Inversión.
Finalmente, también se podrá comercializar servicios por el modo 4, “presencia de
personas físicas”, a través del cual el prestador del servicio es quien se desplaza
temporalmente al otro país, tal como sucede cuando se da una capacitación o se
presta un servicio de reparación en el otro territorio.

32. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

33. Some Projects
Utility‐Scale Solar Projects in the US

34. SunShot Initiative

35. SunShot Initiative

36. Utility‐Scale Solar Projects in the US
Updated October 24, 2011

37. Utility‐Scale Solar Projects in the US
Updated October 24, 2011

38. Utility‐Scale Solar Projects in the US
Updated October 24, 2011

39. Some Projects
The Obama administration projects

40. Construction Of Seven Transmission Lines in US
 Idaho Power's 500-kilovolt, 300-mile single-circuit Boardman-Hemingway Line
powering Oregon and Idaho
 345-kv Gateway West Project bringing new transmission across Wyoming and Idaho
 345-kv Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse Line powering Minnesota and Wisconsin
 Portland General Electric's 500-kv Cascade Crossing Line to provide Oregon with
additional transmission
 SunZia Transmission LLC's 500-kv transmission lines to bring power to New Mexico
and Arizona
 PPL Electric Utilities and Public Service Electric and Gas Company's 145-mile long,
500-kv Susquehanna-Roseland power line project to bring transmission to
Pennsylvania and New Jersey
 TransWest Express LLC's 700-mile, 600-kv transmission line from Wyoming to Utah
and Nevada, expected to create 1,035-1,550 direct jobs, and facilitate the
development of new wind projects in Wyoming.

41. Construction Of Seven Transmission Lines in US
Sun Zia Project

42. Construction Of Seven Transmission Lines in US
Sun Zia Project

43. Construction Of Seven Transmission Lines in US

44. Some Projects
Listing of Dept. of Administration, Division
of State Facilities (DSF) construction
projects. State of Wisconsin

45. Bid for Department of Administration. State of
Wisconsin
List of Projects Out for Bid
Wednesday, May 23 2012

46. Bid for Department of Administration. State of
Wisconsin

47. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

48. Immigration Law
.
 The U.S. immigration laws prohibit employers from employing persons who are
not authorized to work in the U.S.
 There are economic penalties for employing unauthorized aliens and criminal
penalties can be imposed for a pattern or practice of violations.
 Legal immigration status is divided into two major categories:
 Non-immigrant visas, which connotes temporary status.
 Immigrant visas, which means permanent status.

49. Immigration Law
 Each of these two categories has a number of options for the employment of
foreign nationals in the United States.
 Visa Options for the FTA
 Non Immigrant Visa
 The H1-B Visa
 The L Visa
 The E Visa
 The B1 Visa
 Immigrant Visa
 Skilled or Professional Employee
 Multinational Manager or Executive
 Immigrant Investor

50. US Regulation of Foreign Investment
.
“Buy America Act” states that:
 Only articles, materials and supplies produced in the U.S. may be acquired by the
federal government for public use.
 Foreign ownership is restricted in sectors considered particularly sensitive:
 Aviation, Banking, Communications & Broadcasting, Insurance, Real Estate
 Maritime, Mineral leases & resources
 Power generation & utility services

51. US Regulation of Foreign Investment
 Regarding the Power Generation & Utility Services the law states that:
 Foreign ownership or control of nuclear power facilities is prohibited.
 Only U.S. persons may obtain to own or operate hydroelectric power
facilities.
 The U.S. person may be a U.S.-registered corporation, and there is no limit
on foreign ownership or control.
 Law has changed towards greater competition in the generation of electricity and
related services.
 Interstate transmission of natural gas and electricity is still subject to federal
regulation.

52. Some Employment Laws on the Federal Level
Fair Labor Title VII Equal Pay Act (EPA)
Standards Act
Prohibits Prohibits
• Minimum wage discrimination (race, discrimination due to
requirements color, religion, sex, sex in payment of
national origin, wages.
• Overtime requirements
pregnancy)
Americans with Age
Disabilities Discrimination
Prohibits Prohibits
discrimination against discrimination
individuals with a against people age
serious disability. 40 and over

53. Occupational Safety
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
Mission: Prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths
Requires employers to provide their employees with:
“A workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to
cause death or serious physical harm”.
Every establishment covered by the Act is subject to inspection, programmed
and unprogrammed.
There are penalties according to the type of violation

54. Insurance
 U.S. architects and engineers can obtain malpractice insurance – that pays for their legal
defense and any damages resulting from their professional errors and omissions.
 Such insurance is not available to U.S. contractors. However, commercial general liability
(CGL) insurance is available to contractors.
 CGL pays for their legal defense and any damages resulting from property damage and
personal injuries to third parties.
 Lawyers sometimes can help contractor clients obtain CGL insurance coverage for
damages caused by construction defects.

55. Professional Licensing
 There is no federal construction licensing in the United States.
 Architects and engineers are licensed (or registered) in all 50 states.
 In many states, their business entities also must be licensed or registered.
 Licensing is regulated at the state and the laws can vary greatly from one state to
the next.
 There is less consistency in contractor licensing. Contractors are licensed in
about three-quarters of states.

56. Professional Licensing
85. ¿Se facilitará la homologación de títulos académicos a los
colombianos en Estados Unidos?
El reconocimiento mutuo de títulos universitarios es un tema que
complementa el ámbito comercial y se consolida por medio de otros
acuerdos. Sin embargo, en el Tratado se logró establecer que los dos
países busquen, con sus respectivas autoridades, elaborar normas para el
otorgamiento de licencias y certificados a proveedores de servicios
profesionales.
A través de una Carta Adjunta al Capítulo de Servicios, Estados Unidos se
comprometió a revisar las medidas de nivel estatal que requieran
residencia permanente o ciudadanía para los servicios profesionales de
ingeniería, contabilidad, arquitectura, servicios jurídicos, enfermería,
odontología, medicina general y servicios prestados por personal
paramédico.

57. Professional Licensing
86. ¿Es decir que habrá nuevos negocios para Colombia con EE.UU. por
cuenta de los servicios profesionales?
La creación de un grupo de trabajo para servicios profesionales dentro del
TLC ofrece un marco permanente para que los cuerpos profesionales de
los dos países, realicen trabajos en materia de reconocimiento mutuo y
desarrollo de estándares para licenciamiento.
Aunque el TLC ha identificado los sectores de ingeniería y arquitectura
como prioridades, otros como servicios de salud y de consultoría podrán
utilizar este marco en el futuro para impulsar acuerdos en dichas materias.

58. General requirements for a PE licensure
Successfully completion of the
eight-hour Fundamentals of
Engineering (FE) Examination
Virtually every Successfully
Four-year engineering state law completion of the
degree in a program outlines a four- eight- hour Principles
approved by the state step process to and Practice of
engineering licensure be licensed as Engineering (PE)
board Examination
a PE
Four years of qualifying
engineering experience

59. Requirements for a foreign engineering degree
Mathematics
& Basic Engineering
Sciences: Science & Humanities &
32 credit Design: Social TOEFL score
Computer
hours 48 credit Sciences: over 550 or a
Skills Should
hours 16 credit passing satisfy
hours score on the computer
GRE based skill
examination with
Engineering
applications

60. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

61. Types of Business Organizations
THE CORPORATE FORM MENU
CORPORATE OWNERSHIP RULES TAX TREATMENT LIABILITY PROS AND CONS
STRUCTURE
Sole One owner Pass-through federal tax Unlimited Is easy to set up but
Proprietorship entity personal leaves your personal
liability for finances at risk. Plus,
business you miss out on all
debts. kinds of business
deductions.
S Corporation Up to 75 Pass-through federal tax Limited Is easy to set up but
shareholders, only entity may limit your financing
one basic class of options later on.
stock; slight flexibility
on voting rights.
C Corporation Unlimited number of Dividend income gets Limited Can be costly from a
shareholders; no taxed at the corporate tax perspective but
limits on stock classes and shareholder levels; investor friendly.
or voting losses and deductions
arrangements. stay at the corporate
level.

62. Types of Business Organizations
THE CORPORATE FORM MENU
CORPORATE OWNERSHIP RULES TAX TREATMENT LIABILITY PROS AND CONS
STRUCTURE
Limited Liability Unlimited number of Pass-through federal tax Limited Has lots of advantages
Company “members”; flexible entity but makes investors
membership leery, which could make
arrangements, with financing deal dicey.
voting rights and Cost of switching forms
income divided as from S or C-corporation
desired. status is generally
prohibitive.
Partnership Two or more owners Pass-through federal tax Personal Allows lots of room to
entity; flexibility about assets of play with tax benefits,
profit and loss any but in a general
allocations among operating partnership, that
partners. partner at personal liability can be
risk from scary.
business
creditors

63. Company Licensing
Most states and many cities and/or
counties impose licenses and permits on a
wide variety of businesses.
Typically:
 State license
 County and city occupational license
 City certificate of use
Recommended for engineering
companies:
 Professional Engineer

64. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Operational schemes
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

65. Type of Customers
Customers could be classified in 4 types within the US electrical sector:
 Federal Government.
 Utilities.
 Contracting Companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEM’s).
 End Users.

66. Advantages of Being a Subcontractor
Country's single largest buyer
Government
Prime Contractor
-Delay
-Contractual obligation
Prime Contractor
-Exceed payment periods
-Cash flow problems
-Complicate procedures
-Services to government
Company -Simply agreements
-Payment protection
-Easy procedures

67. Federal Procurement
 The federal government purchases billions of dollars in goods and
services each year from paperclips to complex space vehicles.
 To ensure that small businesses get their fair share, statutory goals
have been established for Federal executive agencies. They are:
 23 percent of prime contracts for small businesses
 5 percent of prime and subcontracts for small disadvantaged businesses
 5 percent of prime and subcontracts for women-owned small businesses
 3 percent of prime contracts for Historically Underutilized Business Zone
(HUBZone) small businesses
 3 percent of prime and subcontracts for service-disabled veteran-owned
small businesses.

68. Registering a Company:
Central Contractor Registration
 The Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is the primary vendor database for the
U.S. Federal Government.
 Collect
 Validates
 Store and disseminates
 Registration in CCR in order to be awarded contracts by the government.
 Registration to provide information relevant to procurement and financial transactions.

69. Information Needed to Register
 Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number
 CAGE Code
 Legal Business Name and Doing Business As (DBA)
 US Federal TIN
 Physical Street Address 1
 Date Business Started
 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes
 Bank accounts information
This is some of the information needed.
The complete list is in the CCR webpage
http://www.ccr.gov

70. Finding Possibilities through Internet
There are good number of search engines that provide at definite fee or even free
information about projects, RFP, RFQ in government and private companies. Some
of these web sites are:
 Fedbizopps.gov
 DemandStar.com
 Comm-pass.com
 Findrp.com
 Onvia.com
Also, some government and private entities post in their website the opportunities
they have. Examples of this are: US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and
Bechtel Corporation

71. Where to find Federal Contracts ?

72. Where to find Federal Contracts ?

73. Where to find Federal Contracts ?

74. www.usace.army.mil

75. Doing business with the US Army Corps

76. Doing business with the US Army Corps

77. Doing business with the US Army Corps

78. Doing business with the US Army Corps

79. Doing business with the US Army Corps
Registration is to
receive notifications of
any changes to the
specified solicitation by
e-mail

80. Contents
 Information about the U.S. Electric Power Industry
 Selection of Attractive States
 Projects and specific available possibilities
 Operational schemes
 Barriers and Requirements to Establish and Operate in US
 Establishing a company in the U.S.
 Marketing strategies
 Conclusions

81. Conclusions
 The electrical system of the USA presents a giant and well developed
infrastructure but presents severe weaknesses and needs important projects.
Therefore it offers huge market possibilities for transnational and established
companies.
 Doing business in the USA is both easy and difficult. It is easy in the sense
that there are thousands of opportunities well paid generally. It is difficult
though in the sense that penetrating the American market is complicated, high
investment is normally required and getting acquainted with the bid process is
lengthy.
 It is very important to stress that the US offers possibilities in each of the 50
states. From a selection based on economical figures and parameters of the
electricity market a total of 10 states were taken: Texas, Florida, California,
Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan.

82. References

83. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLOMBIAN
COMPANIES IN THE U.S. MARKET
Questions?
jmgers@gersusa.com
Tel: +1-954-3848925