Unlocking Capital for Power and Energy Companies

In this Risk Capital Insight episode of the On Aon podcast, Aon credit specialists discuss how leading power and energy organizations are using Risk Capital to drive confidence, continuity and growth. The conversation centers on leadership choices that strengthen balance sheets, reinforce trading relationships and expand access to capital. Rather than reacting to external conditions, the episode highlights how credit, political risk and surety solutions are deployed proactively to support investment and long-term resilience.

Key Takeaways:  

1. Credit and political risk solutions are increasingly being used as strategic tools to support growth and strengthen trading relationships, not simply to transfer risk.
2. Credit insurance enables leaders to manage unsecured exposure with confidence, preserving flexibility and decision‑making speed. This approach supports continued trading and commercial activity while reinforcing disciplined balance‑sheet management.
3. By strengthening the credit quality of payment streams, organizations are unlocking additional bank and investor capital. Improved cash‑flow certainty creates balance sheet headroom that supports investment, strategic expansion and long‑term value creation.

Experts in this episode:

• James Ponsford, Global Commodities Industry Leader, Aon
• David Kinzel, Structured Credit and Political Risk US Leader, Credit Solutions, Aon
• Meera Saunders, Client Director, Structured Credit Solutions, Aon

Key Moments:

(3:30) How leaders are using credit solutions to create balance‑sheet headroom, manage concentration risk and sustain trading activity.

(06:15) How credit insurance supports confident management of unsecured exposure as transaction sizes and values increase.

(10:15) A breakdown of credit insurance, political risk insurance and surety — and how these tools can help protect payment streams, manage geopolitical uncertainty and unlock capital.

Soundbites:

David Kinzel:

“The other area that I think we could talk about is the ability for the insurance to unlock capital. So, what we're doing is we're looking at the counterparty risk and we're essentially using credit insurance as a credit enhancement. Getting that certainty around continued payment streams just has a big effect on working with banks.”

Meera Saunders:

“We see sophisticated energy companies utilizing credit solutions as a tool to enable them to continue operating in their business and grow, rather than just as a way of offloading risk.”