Barton Staff Meeting

Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes with the three key energy staff to the H=
ouse Energy and Commerce Committee -- Andy Black (for Barton) and Sean Cunn=
ingham and Jason Bentley (the energy counsels to the full committee). We m=
et at my request to discuss Barton RTO draft. (The group EPSA meeting with=
Chairman Barton that was to have been yesterday afternoon has been resched=
uled for next Tuesday.)
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Key points from the meeting --
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1. They do not expect the Barton Subcommittee to mark up the electricity l=
egislation this year. Time is running out and Members of the subcommittee =
are not focused on the issue. Instead, they plan to continue working on th=
e issue at the staff level. Probably will be another draft version circula=
ted and then a version will be introduced by Barton as a formal bill by the=
end of the year. The earliest they see any kind of vote is late Jan. or ea=
rly February.
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2. Barton feels strongly that FERC should not be the "tail wagging the do=
g" on RTO policy.
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3. On particulars of the bill, they are clearly reconsidering the 40,000 =
MW minimum threshold for the size of an RTO. They are getting pulled in bo=
th directions, they say, and are inclined to drop the 40,000 MW number -- p=
ossibly leaving it to FERC to set a number. They conceded that the mechani=
cs of the draft make it unlikely that the 18 month "deadline" for all trans=
mission owners to get into an approved RTO would stick. They consciously c=
hanged the normal judicial standard of review for FERC actions from "arbitr=
ary and capricious" to "preponderance of the evidence" because they think o=
therwise the courts will rubber stamp FERC. Spent a lot of time on how the=
draft would aid and abet the recalcitrant utilities and that the overall n=
ature of the draft assumes there are only two parties to this -- FERC and t=
he transmission owners -- while the rest of those truly affected -- from us=
to others -- are left out. Sean said we could still intervene, but I said=
that was the truly pro forma aspect of their process since FERC's hands an=
d our's would be tied by the "rights" given to transmission owners to drag =
their feet.
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Bottom line -- FERC has a window until next Spring without likely congressi=
onal interference, at least not of the formal, legislative variety, to both=
move on RTOs and improve its relations with Congress. FERC staff has been=
pushing the committee staff on concerns similar to our concerns.