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Enron Mail |
Attached is a summary of the recently held IPPNY Spring Conference, at whic=
h=20 Governor Pataki's newly appointed Senior Policy Advisor, Kevin Cahill, was= =20 the keynote speaker. Cahill, who previously served in the Pataki=20 administration as the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, emphasize= d=20 the Governor's committment to speeding up the State's siting process. He al= so=20 noted that the Pataki administration wants renewed emphasis on increased=20 transmission capacity, and will push demand reduction. As noted in IPPNY's= =20 summary, Cahill emphasized that these measures are necessary to make sure t= he=20 market works and stave off cries from politicians who want to reregulate th= e=20 energy system. I wonder whether those politicians include his own Public=20 Service Commission! ----- Forwarded by Howard Fromer/NA/Enron on 05/15/2001 02:57 PM ----- =09Mary Williams <mary@ippny.org< =0905/14/2001 05:03 PM =09=09=20 =09=09 To: Mailing List 3 <mary@ippny.org< =09=09 cc: <Mail@ippny.org< =09=09 Subject: Member Alert #25-2001 Member Alert 25-2001 =20 SPRING CONFERENCE IS MAJOR SUCCESS From the 250 people who attended the Tuesday night reception, to=20 statewide and national newspaper, radio and television coverage IPPNY=01,s= 15th=20 Annual Legislative Spring Conference was a rousing success, IPPNY Executi= ve=20 Director Gavin J. Donohue declared. =20 The conference, whose theme was =01&The Heat is On: Preparing for Summer 20= 01=018,=20 featured an address from Gov. George E. Pataki=01,s senior policy advisor J= ohn=20 P. Cahill, as well as remarks from Senate Energy Committee Chairman James W= .=20 Wright.=20 Speakers from the Department of Public Service, the New York Independent=20 System Operator, the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, an= d=20 representatives of the coal, oil and natural gas industries gave the 130=20 conference attendees valuable insights into the energy and fuel supply=20 picture for the summer. In his lunchtime remarks, Cahill emphasized Gov. Pataki=01,s commitment to= =20 speeding up the process of siting generating capacity in New York. The=20 administration, he said, wants the Article X siting process to be effective= . =20 =01&We will redouble our efforts to make sure the staff at each agency is = as=20 prompt and responsive as they can be under the circumstances,=018 Cahill sa= id.=20 =01&I will also be asking each agency involved in the Article X process to= =20 review its current staffing allocations to determine whether an additional= =20 reallocation for Article X project review is necessary.=018 =20 The Pataki administration wants to hear from IPPNY members on changes that= =20 should be made in the Article X law, Cahill said. He invited members to use= =20 IPPNY as their conduit for ideas. The Pataki administration also wants renewed emphasis on increased=20 transmission capacity, and will push demand reduction, Cahill said. These= =20 measures are necessary to make sure the market works and stave off cries fr= om=20 politicians who want to reregulate the energy system, Cahill said. He also emphasized Gov. Pataki=01,s commitment to environmental protection,= =20 while promising to be =018sensitive to the issues of service, reliability a= nd=20 the state=01,s need for additional power generation.=018 =20 =01&Sound energy policy also means sound environmental policy,=018 Cahill = said. Wright emphasized that the state Senate is focusing on tax cuts as a way to= =20 help energy companies compete in the marketplace. The Senate=01,s goal is = to=20 keep the Legislature out of the energy regulation business, he said.The wor= st=20 thing that could happen to the energy marketplace is for state lawmakers to= =20 =01&try to legislatively micromanage that process.=018 =20 The state is responding to the need for additional capacity, Wright said. T= he=20 average time to permit new generating projects in New York has gone from an= =20 average of 361 days for the first projects going through the Article X=20 process to 254 days for the most recent projects, he pointed out.=20 Assembly Energy Committee Chairman Paul Tonko had looked forward to=20 addressing conference attendees, but was kept away by unavoidable legislati= ve=20 business. Steven McClary, principal partner in MRW & Associates, a California=20 energy-consulting firm, gave IPPNY members a rundown on that state=01,s ene= rgy=20 mishaps. A key piece of California=01,s new energy policy is a requirement = that=20 he fully charge up his laptop computer in New York before he=01,s allowed b= ack=20 home, McClary joked. California did everything it shouldn=01,t have, McClary told the conference= .=20 Artificially low rates put Pacific Gas and Electric into bankruptcy, and a= =20 three -cent per kilowatt hour price increase allowed by state regulators ha= sn=01, t yet been implemented. Only a state offer to buy Southern California Ediso= n=01, s transmission lines, which the legislature appears unlikely to approve, is= =20 keeping that utility from declaring bankruptcy, he said. Meanwhile, California electric rates have gone up very little, providing no= =20 incentive for customers to use less power, McClary said. The high utility= =20 prices Californians complain about on the TV news are natural gas rates, he= =20 said. Peter Smith, vice president of programs for NYSERDA, outlined demand=20 reduction measures being advanced by the agency, and emphasized the need fo= r=20 more natural gas supply in the state. =01&The reliability of the electric system hinges on the reliability of th= e=20 natural gas system,=01,=01, Smith said. Paul Powers, director of the Department of Public Service=01,s Office of=20 Electricity and the Environment outlined the work his agency has done in=20 scooping out the state=01,s electricity needs . NYISO marketing services vi= ce=20 president Charles King spelled out the need for increased capacity to avoid= a=20 =01&California meltdown.=018 Michael Trunzo, chief executive officer of the Empire State Petroleum=20 Association, Gary Edwards, an expert on coal supplies with AES Somerset=20 Support Team, and, Richard T. =01&Rick=018 Thatcher, vice president of the= =20 Wholesale Power Group of Dominion Generation, talked about natural gas=20 supplies. Sam Laniado and David Johnson, IPPNY counsels, updated attendees on the=20 latest developments at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Publi= c=20 Service Commission and the NYISO. The Tuesday reception, held on the observation deck of the Empire State Pla= za=01, s Corning Tower, was well attended by lawmakers, IPPNY members, and=20 administration officials. Extensive media coverage of the IPPNY conference highlights the key role= =20 IPPNY plays in New York=01,s energy marketplace, Donohue said. The conference was covered by the Associated Press, Ottoway News Service,= =20 Albany Times Union, the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, Gannet, Bloomberg, Do= w=20 Jones, Johnson Newspapers, public television=01,s Inside Albany show, three= =20 Albany-area television stations, and radio stations in Albany and across th= e=20 state.=20 Interest was so intense, in fact, a Bloomberg online news service reporter= =20 seeking a taped interview outlining IPPNY=01,s energy views, called IPPNY= =20 President Roger Kelley at 6:30 a.m. the day after the conference. ###
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