The Commission will convene a second conference on Broadband over Power Lines on August 31, 2005, at the Illinois State Museum Auditorium. The conference will include an overview of broadband technologies as well as an overview of the Department of Commerce and Economic Development's Digital Divide Findings. Community experiences on the need for and implementation of broadband will be shared, and broadband vendors will be present to field questions. The full text of the Conference Agenda is available on the NEM Website.

DTE submitted a "Report on the Status of Retail Competitive Markets in Massachusetts - February to April 2005" to the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The Report notes that, "Retail competitive suppliers provide over 33 percent of the total electric energy bought by Massachusetts consumers – predominately large commercial and industrial (“C&I”) customers. Conversely, almost all residential and small C&I customers currently receive basic service. It is widely thought that the availability of below-market standard offer service has acted as a barrier to the development of competitive retail markets in Massachusetts. On March 1, 2005, this barrier was removed when approximately 1.4 million residential customers and 140,000 small commercial and industrial customers were transferred from standard offer service to basic service." DTE reported significant gains in the percent of electricity consumption purchased through competitive supply as follows: large C&I - 20% increase; medium C&I - 34% increase; small C&I - 65% increase; and residential - 106% increase. The full text of the Report is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission previously determined that DEO's application to restructure its commodity service function constituted a "request for exemption from the provisions of Chapter 4905, Revised Code, governing commodity sales service." DEO has requested rehearing of this determination arguing that its application is not a request to make unregulated sales of natural gas. DEO stressed that as a result of Phase 1 the nature of its commodity sales service will not change, only the manner in which it procures supplies and the manner in which the service is priced. DEO also noted that even in Phase 2 and thereafter it would still function as the Provider of Last Resort. DEO also requests that the Commission reconsider its decision to review Phases 1 and 2 together.

A procedural schedule to examine DEO's application has been set as follows:
Applicant testimony - September 19, 2005
Discovery requests - October 24, 2005
Motions to intervene - November 8, 2005
Intervenor testimony - November 14, 2005
Staff testimony - November 21, 2005
Applicant rebuttal testimony - November 30, 2005
Evidentiary hearing - December 6, 2005