Convention for Friends of Competitive Energy Markets News

CAEM thanks all who attended the Convention and helped to make it a tremendouse success!

Watch this space and the CAEM Tuesday Morning Report for links to speaker presentations and results from the discussions of the 10 resolutions, coming soon.

Update May 30—Less Than a Week Until the Convention Is Called to Order!

The Convention for Friends of Competitive Energy Markets, sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM), will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill. The convention is aimed at answering the question: How can supporters of competitive energy markets coordinate and accelerate their efforts? It will be organized around the components of an action plan for competitive policies: vision, policy, strategy, leadership, organization and resources, and outreach and persuasion.

“We need a forum to discuss and debate the strategy and tactics for advancing and improving energy markets,” said former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) member Branko Terzic, now director of regulatory services, Deloitte Services LP and a longtime CAEM board member. “I think it is time that supporters of competitive energy markets hold an annual convention to strategize, network, become motivated, and recognize accomplishments.”

"I am pleased that there is a ready community of competitive energy market supporters willing to engage in the difficult task of changing the status quo," said Paul Hudson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

“I am especially delighted by the participation of state regulators from states where customers benefit every day from competitive energy markets,” said FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell.

“I am delighted with the way the Convention is shaping up. The speakers include the Chairman of FERC, a FERC commissioner, three former FERC Commissioners, three chairmen of State Commissions, three former state commissioners, the heads of all the key trade associations, and seven President/CEO level executives of leading corporations,” said Ken Malloy, CEO of CAEM.

Speakers Include:
Pat Wood, FERC Chairman
Nora Brownell, FERC Commissioner
William Massey, Former FERC Commissioner, now partner, Covington & Burling, and counsel for the COMPETE Coalition
Donald Santa, Former FERC Commissioner, now president of the Interstate National Gas Association of America
Branko Terzic, former FERC commissioner and Global and U.S. Regulatory Policy leader, Deloitte Services
Bill Flynn, chairman, New York Public Service Commission
Kenneth Schisler, chairman, Maryland Public Service Commission
Paul Hudson, chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas
John Anderson, president and CEO, Electricity Consumers Resource Council
Tom Casten, Chairman and CEO, Primary Energy
Jan Fox, executive vice president and general counsel, Strategic Energy
Craig Goodman, president, National Energy Marketers Association
Jack Hawks, VP for Public Affairs and Planning, Electric Power Supply Association
Lois Hedg-peth, president, U.S. Operations, Direct Energy
Carrie Cullen Hitt, vice president, government and regulatory affairs, Constellation NewEnergy
Skip Horvath, president, Natural Gas Supply Association
John Jimison, executive director and general counsel, U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association
Joseph Monroe, vice president, SouthStar Energy Services
Clem Palevich, president and CEO, Constellation NewEnergy
Mary Shields, president, BP Solar North America
Mike Swider, director, market development, Strategic Energy
Paul Thomas, president, Green Mountain Energy

The convention is scheduled in conjunction with CAEM’s Annual Energy Competition Leadership Awards Banquet, set for the evening of June 6.

FERC Chair Pat Wood and Roland Priddle, former chairman of the National Energy Board in Canada, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Awards will also be presented to FERC Commissioner Brownell, the Texas PUC Staff, the Natural Gas Supply Association, John Anderson of ELCON, and others.

“This is the second year CAEM has awarded the Energy Competition Leadership Awards. Amid all the chaos of the last couple of years, it is easy to miss the significant accomplishments in competitive natural gas and electric markets,” Malloy said. “We have identified over 10 individuals or organizations in both 2004 and 2005 that have made the world a better place from an energy markets perspective. It is about time that we recognize our heroes.” (Click here for the press release about the 2005 award winners.)

BP Solar North America and the Bordeaux Energy Colloquium have joined the list of Convention sponsors that also includes Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Direct Energy/Centrica, Constellation NewEnergy, SouthStar Energy Services, Ameren Energy Marketing, and Strategic Energy. For sponsorship and group discount information or to make comments/suggestions about this event, please contact Gary Clouser.

Update May 20—Energy Competition Leadership Awards for 2005 Announced

Click here for details.

Update April 19—FERC Chairman Wood and Canada's Priddle To Be Inducted into Hall of Fame at Energy Competition Leadership Awards Banquet

FERC Chairman Pat Wood and Roland Priddle, former chairman of the National Energy Board of Canada, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at CAEM's Energy Competition Leadership Awards Banquet, set for the evening of June 6, in Washington, DC.

Wood, who has served as chairman of FERC since 2001 and was formerly the chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, announced recently that he will be leaving FERC on June 30 at the end of his term. The banquet provides market advocates with an opportunity to pay tribute to Wood and to Priddle for their unwavering support of competition, even amid harsh political pressure. Priddle, a former oil industry executive, served 10 years as chairman of the NEB. In addition to the induction of the Hall of Fame, several other leadership awards will be announced at the banquet.

Additions to the convention speakers list this week are Paul Hudson, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and John Jimison, executive director and general counsel of the U.S. Combined Heat and Power Association.

Watch this space for more speakers to be announced soon. Public Service Electric and Gas Company has joined the list of corporate sponsors that also includes Direct Energy/Centrica, Constellation NewEnergy, SouthStar Energy Services, Ameren Energy Marketing, and Strategic Energy. For sponsorship and group discount information or to make comments/suggestions about this event, please contact Gary Clouser.

Update April 12—William Massey, Constellation NewEnergy, and Strategic Energy Added to List of Speakers

Three more speakers have been confirmed for CAEM's convention and awards banquet, set for June 6-7 in Washington, DC. They are: William Massey, former FERC commissioner and currently partner at Covington & Burling; Clem Palevich, president and CEO of Constellation NewEnergy; and Jan Fox, executive vice president and general counsel at Strategic Energy. Massey is serving as counsel for the recently formed "Compete" — a coalition formed to promote competition among electricity providers. That group currently consists of: Calpine, Constellation Energy Group, Exelon, Mirant, Public Service Enterprise Group, Reliant Energy, and Waxler & Walker Public Policy Advocates.

Watch this space for more speakers to be announced soon. Corporate sponsors, thus far, include: Direct Energy/Centrica, Constellation NewEnergy, SouthStar Energy Services, Ameren Energy Marketing, and Strategic Energy. For sponsorship and group discount information or to make comments/suggestions about this event, please contact Gary Clouser.

Update April 4—NY and MD State Commission Chairs, Green Mountain Energy, Constellation NewEnergy, and Direct Energy Accept Convention Speaking Engagements

The chairmen of the New York and Maryland state commissions are among those that this week have agreed to speak at the Convention for Friends of Competitive Energy Markets.

Bill Flynn is the Chairman of the New York Public Service Commission. He is the 2004 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Award, presented by CAEM for his innovation in the public sector by creating the Office of Retail Market Development, an office dedicated to advancing retail competition in the energy and telecommunications industry.

Kenneth Schisler is the chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.

Also accepting a speaking invitation this week were: Lois Hedg-peth, president of U.S. operations for Direct Energy; Paul Thomas, president of Green Mountain Energy; and Carrie Cullen Hitt, vice president of government and regulatory affairs for Constellation NewEnergy.

Direct Energy has more than 5 million customer relationships to supply gas, electricity, and related serves to businesses and residential customers across North America. Direct Energy is part of the Centrica group. Centrica North America serves more than 1.5 million customers in Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts through its Direct Energy brand, CPL Retail Energy and WTU Retail Energy brands in south and west Texas.

Green Mountain Energy is the largest retail provider of environmentally-friendly fueled electricity using wind, solar, water, geothermal, biomass, and natural gas in the U.S. It serves more than 600,000 customers in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon and Texas.

Constellation NewEnergy is a leading competitive supplier of electricity, natural gas and energy related services to commercial and industrial customers throughout North America. It serves more than 8,000 commercial and industrial customers throughout 31 states and three Canadian provinces representing more than 12,000 megawatts of peak load and more than 300 billon cubic feet of annual natural gas consumption. It is a member of Constellation Energy, the nation's leading competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller.

Update, March 29—Trade Associations, Government, and Industry To Be Represented

CAEM's convention, set for June 6-7 in Washington, DC, is intended to help develop community among supporters of competitive energy markets. It will feature representation from several leading energy trade associations. They include the National Energy Marketers Association, the Alliance for Retail Choice, the Electric Power Supply Association, the Natural Gas Supply Association, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, and the Electricity Consumers Resource Council. The convention is being held in coordination with the Annual Energy Competition Leadership Awards Banquet, set for the evening of June 6.

Speakers will also include leading FERC officials, state commission chairs, and industry CEOs. Watch this space and the CAEM Tuesday Morning Report as more convention speakers will be announced soon. Registration details for the Convention and the Leadership Awards Banquet are now available here. For sponsorship and group discount information or to make comments/suggestions about this event, please contact Gary Clouser.

Update, March 22—FERC Chairman Pat Wood Added to Speakers List

FERC Chairman Pat Wood will be a featured speaker June 6 at the Convention of Friends of Energy Markets: Coordinating and Accelerating the Transition.

Wood has been FERC chairman since joining the Commission in 2001. Prior to that, he was the chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. He is the 2004 recipient of CAEM's Churchill Award for "Principled Vision," amid harsh criticism. Wood believes that competition can do better than regulation in delivery customer benefits and service innovations. Throughout his career, he has worked to advance a pro-customer, market-oriented vision of utility regulation.

Update, March 15—FERC's Brownell and INGAA's Santa Added to Speakers List

FERC Commissioner Nora Brownell and Former FERC Commissioner Donald Santa, now president of the Interstate National Gas Association of America (INGAA), the trade association of natural gas pipeline companies, have agreed to speak at CAEM's Convention for Friends of Competitive Energy Markets: Coordinating and Accelerating the Transition, set for June 6-7 in Washington, DC. The convention is being held in conjunction with the Annual Energy Competition Leadership Awards Banquet, set for the evening of June 6.

Brownell, a FERC Commissioner since 2001, is a former member of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and a past president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).

Santa served on the FERC from 1993 to 1997. During his tenure, he worked on major FERC initiatives, including Order No. 888 (open access for electric transmission) and implementation of Order No. 636 (the rule restructuring natural gas pipeline services.) Santa also is former senior vice president of strategic planning for LG&E Energy.

Additional speakers will be announced soon in this space and in the CAEM Tuesday Morning Report.

Update, March 8—Terzic, ELCON's Anderson, NGSA's Horvath, NEM's Goodman To Speak

Among those who have accepted invitations to speak at CAEM's Convention for Friends of Competitive Energy Markets are:

Former FERC Commissioner Branko Terzic, currently the Global and U.S. Regulatory Policy Leader for Energy and Resources at Deloitte Services.
John Anderson, president and CEO of Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON). ELCON is the national association representing large industrial electricity consumers. Its member companies consume more than 5 percent of all electricity in the United States.
Skip Horvath, President of the Natural Gas Supply Association. NGSA represents U.S.-based producers and marketers and is an advocate for the use of natural gas within a balanced national energy policy and promotes the benefits of competitive markets.
Craig Goodman, President of the National Energy Marketers Association (NEM). NEM is a national trade association representing wholesale and retail marketers of energy and urges lawmakers and regulators to implement laws and regulations that open markets for natural gas and electricity.

Additional speakers will be announced soon.