When Congress set out to ensure that AIG-style government bailouts never happen again, it produced a pervasive law that will fundamentally change the way the energy industry conducts business.

Oil producers, midstream companies, utilities and others that have long relied on "over-the-counter" swaps to protect against market price volatility now must rethink their entire approach, dedicate more precious capital to hedging- and prepare to comply with a myriad of new regulations expected to be spewed in coming months by federal regulators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Be prepared they must, as there is no turning back the legislative clock. Each company, to best manage price risks survival, will need to analyze the likely impact of Dodd-Frank )Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) on its business and develop contingency coping plans, depending on how the regulators address critical questions that Congress left to their discretion.