Preparing for the Energy Risk Professional (ERP) Exam
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For those of you who are new to this certification, ERP is a certification program offered by GARP for energy risk professionals.
In this article, we will talk about how to prepare for the ERP exam, what are the topics covered, and other exam preparation details.
To start with, you must know that ERP is a comprehensive exam and tests your knowledge on the various aspects of energy and financial markets.
The various sections of the exam and their weightings are given below:
The test weights and question allocation for the 2011 ERP Exam will be as follows:
| Physical Energy Markets | Total weight 40% | |
| Petroleum | 15% | |
| Gas | 10% | |
| Electricity Production and Distribution | 10% | |
| Renewables and Carbon Emissions | 5% | |
| Financial Markets | Total weight - 50% | |
| Financial Products and Valuation | 20% | |
| Modeling and Valuing Energy Transactions | 15% | |
| Risk Management Techniques | 15% | |
| Current Issues in Energy | Total weight - 10% | |
The ERP exam is a a paper based exam, which is conducted in two sessions. The exam will have a total of 180 multiple-choice questions, 90 questions in each session.
The answer to this question varies from person to person, however, GARP suggests that a candidate should spend anywhere around 200 to 300 hours for the exam preparation. In terms of weeks, the students should plan their studies in such a away that they are able to complete the entire reading list in 13 to 20 weeks.
The exam is conducted in the month of May and November every year.
The questions in the ERP exam are prepared exclusively from the ERP Core Reading Pack. The Core Reading pack consists of selected chapters from various books on energy and risk management.
The students should refer to the AIM statements in conjunction with the readings because the real exam questions will be based on the objectives specified in the AIM statements.
Referring to the AIM statements helps you save a lot of time, as you will know exactly what to focus on in each reading. For example, some of the topics in the readings may be very technical or scientific in nature. The candidates need not worry about these technical details but rather focus on the application of the content in the energy business.
Practice is the key to pass the exam. To help the students GARP has provided two practice exams on their website. Students are encouraged to download and take these tests. This will give them the idea of what to expect in the real exam. The practice tests can be downloaded from the following link:
http://www.garp.org/erp/study-center/free-practice-quizzes-and-exams.aspx