NEM's "National Energy Technology Policy" Paper was adopted at its Executive Committee meeting in The Woodlands, Texas. As detailed in articles in NEXTMarkets and Restructuring Today, the Paper urges the adoption of Standardized Information Protocols and uniform business rules, migration to Internet-based technology, and provision of tax credits for regulated and unregulated entities that make "qualified energy restructuring investments" as well as expedited prudency reviews. The full text of NEM's National Energy Technology Policy Paper is available on the NEM Website.

In a Keynote address at NEM's Industry Roundtable, Pat Wood, Chairman of the Texas PUC rolled out the welcome mat to marketers interested in doing business in Texas. An article in NEXTMarkets detailing the advantages of the Texas Restructuring plan is hotlinked here for your convenience.

EIA has requested comments on its proposed revised gas marketer survey. The revised survey will collect state-level monthly data for residential and commercial sectors, including number of customers, volumes of gas sold, and revenues. The revised survey will require reporting from natural gas marketers, as opposed to the previous survey that would have required reporting from marketers, local distribution companies, and their billing agents. Comments on the Survey are due by December 29, 2000. NEM members interested in submitting comments should contact headquarters ASAP. The full text of EIA's Request for Comments and the Proposed Revised Gas Marketer Survey are available on the NEM Website.

NEM has been requested to provide member input on the GISB Strawman for the creation of an electric and gas industry standards board. Interested NEM members should contact headquarters ASAP. The full text of the GISB Strawman is available on the NEM Website.

Energy Exchanges Online will hold a conference for online energy exchanges & marketplaces on December 4-6, 2000, in Scottsdale, Arizona. NEM members receive a 20% discount (must mention NEM at the time of booking). The program, registration information, list of participating companies and speaker line up is available at: www.eyeforenergy.com/xonline

Yesterday, FERC held hearings on the California energy market issues. Enron complained about the $150 soft cap and other parties complained about the prices or the inability to build or interconnect into the California market. The Cal-ISO will reconstitute its Board, and utilities will be encouraged to hedge on the forward market to avoid last minute spot purchases during times of peak demand. FERC also issued an Order proposing remedies for the California wholesale electric markets. Comments on the proposed remedies are due by November 22, 2000. There will be a public conference in San Diego on the proposed remedies on November 14, 2000. NEM members interested in submitting comments should contact headquarters ASAP. The full text of the Order Proposing Remedies for California Wholesale Electrics is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission Staff has released its Report on the Western Markets and Causes of Summer 2000 Abnormalities. The full text of Staff's Report is available on the NEM Website as follows: Front Section, Section 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4, Section 5, Section 6, and Appendix A.

The Commission Staff has released its Report on Bulk Power Markets in the U.S. The Report details causes for concern in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, and ERCOT regions and suggested Commission actions. The full text of Staff's Report is available on the NEM Website as follows: Report Cover, Northeast Region, Midwest Region, Southeast Region, and ERCOT.

The following proposed amendments to ATSI's OATT to implement the Ohio retail choice program are available on the NEM Website: Revised Table of Contents, Attachments N, O and P, and Rate Schedule 4A.

Due to confidentiality concerns, members who wish to be briefed about the current state of negotiations in the NYSEG back-out rate redesign should contact Headquarters. An article about this proceeding is hotlinked here for your convenience.

NEM supports the proposed ConEd gas settlement agreement which provides for a competitive retail choice credit of 24.0 cents/dth for certain firm transportation customers, a virtual storage option, an imbalance trading service, and elimination of supply standby service. Statements in support or opposition are due by November 15, 2000. The full text of the Notice Requesting Comments and the Settlement Agreement is available on the NEM Website.

ConEd has filed its proposed Phase 4 Retail Access Implementation Plan and Operating Procedure with the Commission. The following documents included in ConEd's filing are available on the NEM Website: Transmittal Letter, Phase 4 Retail Access Implementation Plan and Operating Procedure (clean copy), Phase 4 Retail Access Implementation Plan and Operating Procedure (redlined), and Retail Access Credits.

NEM has filed a statement in support of the proposed Keyspan gas settlement that provides a marketer incentive of eight percent of delivery service charges incurred. The full text of NEM's Statement in Support is available on the NEM Website. The statements filed by Keyspan/Brooklyn Union and Small Customer Marketer Coalition are also available on the NEM Website.

Central Hudson and NYSEG have submitted proposed compliance filings in the billing proceeding. The full texts of Central Hudson's Electric Compliance Filing and Central Hudson's Gas Compliance Filing are available on the NEM Website, and NYSEG's Compliance Filing is available from NEM headquarters.

The Commission is seeking comments on the filing of the EDI Collaborative. Comments are due by December 18, 2000. The full text of the Notice Requesting Comments and the Filing of the EDI Collaborative are available on the NEM Website.

The ALJ in the POLR proceeding has issued a Ruling clarifying the scope of Phase 2 issues to include cost recovery mechanisms for migration incentives. The ALJ also added the following POLR issues: 1) should POLR responsibilities to be transferred from the utility to other entities as the competitive market develops and what steps are necessary to accomplish the transfer, 2) how should POLR responsibilities be changed in a competitive market, and 3) should POLR issues be resolved differently for different customer classes. The next plenary meeting to discuss draft analyses of the scope of Phase 2 of the POLR proceeding will be held on December 19, 2000, at 10:30AM at the Commission's offices at Penn Plaza. The full text of the ALJ's Ruling on the Scope of Phase 2 is available on the NEM Website.

The Commission has issued an RFP for Provider of Last Resort (POLR). The closing date for proposals is January 5, 2000. The full text of the POLR RFP is available on the NEM Website.

The Board is seeking comments on the audits of the electric and gas utilities separation of distribution operations and competitive business segments. Comments are due November 15, 2000. The full text of the Order on the Audits and Executive Summaries of the Audit Reports for PSE&G, RECO, GPU, Conectiv, Elizabethtown Gas, NJ Natural Gas, and South Jersey Gas are available on the NEM Website.

Pending expected BPU approval of the Customer Account Services (CAS) Stipulations, a CAS/EDI meeting has been tentatively scheduled for December 6, 2000, at 10:00AM at the BPU.

NEM has received suggested talking points from GreenMountain for the upcoming NARUC/NASUCA meeting on California issues. The full text of GreenMountain's Talking Points is hotlinked here.

In accordance with the Commission's Order, DP&L has submitted a compliance filing subsequent to receiving intervenor and staff comments. The full texts of DP&L's Compliance Filing and Pole Tariff Attachment are available on the NEM Website.

North Penn Gas and PFG Gas have submitted a Supplier Coordination Tariff and a revised Distribution Tariff to be effective October 27, 2000. The full texts of the Supplier Coordination Tariff and the Revised Distribution Tariff are available on the NEM Website.

Washington Gas has submitted a proposed tariff sheet removing the enrollment limit for its customer choice program for residential customers in the Maryland service territory. The full text of the Washington Gas Proposed Tariff Sheet is available on the NEM Website.

In its seventeenth EDI Status Report, Pepco stated that testing of Batch Four suppliers was completed, and Batch Five testing was to begin October 30, 2000. The full text of Pepco's EDI Status Report is available from NEM headquarters.

The deadline for NEM to file comments in the small volume gas transportation proceeding is November 21, 2000. The full text of the following utilities' draft tariffs are available on the NEM Website: Peoples Proposed Tariff and Peoples Marketer Agreement, United Cities Gas, MidAmerican, and Alliant Energy's Transmittal Letter; Attachment 1; Attachment 2; Attachment 3; and Attachment 4.

NERC has released its Reliability Assessment 2000-2009 addressing the reliability of bulk electric systems in North America. The full text of NERC's Reliability Assessment 2000-2009 is available on the NEM Website.

EEI will present an Internet E-Forum providing an overview of NERC's Reliability Assessment 2000-2009 on November 21, 2000, at 1:00PM. Registrations must be received by November 17, 2000, at the following Website address: www.eei.org/resources/meetings/forums/.