NEM’s 14th Annual National Energy Restructuring Conference will take place April 25th–27th, 2011, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Washington D.C. Convention Center.

To date, we have confirmed: Jon Wellinghoff, FERC Chairman; Marc Spitzer, FERC Chairman; Phillip Moeller, FERC Commissioner; Mignon Clyburn, FCC Commissioner; Douglas Nazarian, MDPSC Chairman; Orjiakor Isiogu, MIPSC Chairman; Doug Scott, ICC Chairman; Betty Ann Kane, DCPSC Chairman; Arnetta McRae, Delaware PSC Chairman; John Coleman, PAPUC Vice Chairman; Erin O'Connell-Diaz, ICC Commissioner; Lula Ford, ICC Commissioner; James Cawley, PAPUC Commissioner; Steven Lesser, PUCO Commissioner; Wayne Gardner, PAPUC Commissioner; Greg White, MIPSC Commissioner; Nicholas Asselta, NJBPU Commissioner; Kenneth Anderson, Jr., TXPUC Commissioner; and Catherine Pugh, MD State Senator. Over a dozen other major public officials have penciled in the dates, waiting to confirm, including Governors.

Many thanks to Washington Gas Energy Services, South Carolina Research Authority, Wal-Mart, Voice Log, Intwine Energy, EC Info-systems, and Nodal Exchange/LCH Clearnet for your sponsorship support.

For reservations at the Embassy Suites, using code “NAW” use this hotlink.

To register for the April meeting, please use this hotlink.

NEM is pleased to announce that ACN Inc. has been elected to NEM's Executive Committee. ACN will be represented by Dave Merriman, Executive Vice President of Sales Support and Tom Ulry, Executive Vice President of Business Development.

Founded in 1993, ACN is the largest direct selling telecommunications and essential services company in the world. ACN provides residential and business customers with a full range of products they need and use every day, including Digital Phone Service with a Video Phone or Phone Adapter, Local and Long Distance Service bundled with High Speed Internet, Wireless, Satellite TV, Home Security, WiMAX Mobile Applications, Computer Support, and Energy. As a direct sales company, ACN offers an independent home-based business opportunity to its Independent Representatives who then offer ACN's products and services to their friends and family members. Operating under the direct selling industry, one of the oldest and most trusted industries, ACN is able to bypass expensive, traditional marketing methods by using relationship marketing.

FERC issued a proposed rulemaking on affiliate bidding on pipeline capacity. In particular, "the Commission proposes to prohibit multiple affiliates of the same entity from bidding in an open season for pipeline capacity in which the pipeline may allocate capacity on a pro rata basis, unless each affiliate has an independent business reason for submitting a bid. The Commission also proposes that if more than one affiliate of the same entity participates in such an open season, then none of those affiliates may release any capacity obtained in that open season pursuant to a pro rata allocation to any affiliate, or otherwise allow any affiliate to obtain the use of the allowed capacity. These proposals would prevent anticompetitive gaming of the pro rata allocation methodology by using multiple affiliates of the same entity to acquire a larger share of the available capacity than one affiliate would be able to acquire by itself." Comments are due May 31, 2011. The full text of the NOPR is available on the NEM Website.

FERC submitted a report to Congress on "Performance Metrics for Independent System Operators and Regional Transmission Organizations." The report was prompted by a GAO recommendation for same and is the result of a FERC Staff and stakeholder process to develop metrics that track the performance of FERC-jurisdictional ISOs/RTOs in delivering benefits to consumers. ISO/RTO metrics were designed to measure performance in three areas: 1) market benefits; 2) organizational effectiveness; and 3) reliability. With respect to market benefits, the report finds that: "The price-cost metric compares the marginal price to the marginal cost of energy production. The closer the marginal price is to the marginal cost, the more competitive the market. Performance against this metric supports the proposition that all ISOs/RTOs have competitive markets, as reflected in the close parity of marginal prices and marginal costs." The report goes on to find that, "Additional indicators that support the conclusion that ISO/RTO markets are competitive are low market concentration indices, . . . and energy market prices are closely tracking fuel costs. . . . Also, demand response entering markets as new resources have provided additional competition." This report is the first of a multi-year evaluation of ISO/RTO performance. The full text of the Report is available on the NEM Website.