Attached is a summary of the recently held IPPNY Spring Conference, at which 
Governor Pataki's newly appointed Senior Policy Advisor, Kevin Cahill, was 
the keynote speaker. Cahill, who previously served in the Pataki 
administration as the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation, emphasized 
the Governor's committment to speeding up the State's siting process. He also 
noted that the Pataki administration wants renewed emphasis on increased 
transmission capacity, and will push demand reduction. As noted in IPPNY's 
summary, Cahill emphasized that these measures are necessary to make sure the 
market works and stave off cries from politicians who want to reregulate the 
energy system. I wonder whether those politicians include his own Public 
Service Commission!
----- Forwarded by Howard Fromer/NA/Enron on 05/15/2001 02:57 PM -----

	Mary Williams <mary@ippny.org>
	05/14/2001 05:03 PM
		 
		 To: Mailing List 3 <mary@ippny.org>
		 cc: <Mail@ippny.org>
		 Subject: Member Alert #25-2001

Member Alert 25-2001    

SPRING CONFERENCE IS MAJOR SUCCESS

    From the 250 people who attended the Tuesday night reception, to 
statewide and national newspaper,  radio and television coverage IPPNY,s 15th 
Annual Legislative  Spring Conference  was a rousing success, IPPNY Executive 
Director Gavin J. Donohue declared.
    
The conference, whose theme was &The Heat is On: Preparing for Summer 20018, 
featured an address from Gov. George E. Pataki,s senior policy advisor John 
P. Cahill, as well as remarks from Senate Energy Committee Chairman James W. 
Wright. 

Speakers from the Department of Public Service, the New York Independent 
System Operator, the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, and 
representatives of the coal, oil and natural gas industries gave the 130 
conference attendees valuable insights into the energy and fuel supply 
picture for the summer.

In his lunchtime remarks, Cahill emphasized Gov. Pataki,s commitment to 
speeding up the process of siting generating capacity in New York. The 
administration, he said, wants the Article X siting process to be effective.
    
 &We will redouble our efforts to make sure the staff at each agency is as 
prompt and responsive as they can be under the circumstances,8 Cahill said. 
&I will also be asking each agency involved in the Article X process to 
review its current staffing allocations to determine whether an additional 
reallocation for Article X project review is necessary.8
    
The Pataki administration wants to hear from IPPNY members on changes that 
should be made in the Article X law, Cahill said. He invited members to use 
IPPNY as their conduit for ideas.

The Pataki administration also wants renewed emphasis on increased 
transmission capacity, and will push demand reduction, Cahill said.  These 
measures are necessary to make sure the market works and stave off cries from 
politicians who want to reregulate the energy system, Cahill said.

He also emphasized Gov. Pataki,s commitment to environmental protection, 
while promising to be 8sensitive to the issues of service, reliability and 
the state,s need for additional power generation.8
    
 &Sound energy policy also means sound environmental policy,8 Cahill said.

Wright emphasized that the state Senate is focusing on tax cuts as a way to 
help energy companies compete in the marketplace.  The Senate,s goal is to 
keep the Legislature out of the energy regulation business, he said.The worst 
thing that could happen to the energy marketplace is for state lawmakers to  
&try to legislatively micromanage that process.8
        
The state is responding to the need for additional capacity, Wright said. The 
average time to permit new generating projects in New York has gone from an 
average of 361 days for the first projects going through the Article X 
process to 254 days for the most recent projects, he pointed out. 

Assembly Energy Committee Chairman Paul Tonko had looked forward to 
addressing conference attendees, but was kept away by unavoidable legislative 
business.

Steven McClary, principal partner in MRW & Associates, a California 
energy-consulting firm, gave IPPNY members a rundown on that state,s energy 
mishaps. A key piece of California,s new energy policy is a requirement that 
he fully charge up his laptop computer in New York before he,s allowed back 
home, McClary joked.

California did everything it shouldn,t have, McClary told the conference. 
Artificially low rates put Pacific Gas and Electric into bankruptcy, and a 
three -cent per kilowatt hour price increase allowed by state regulators hasn,
t yet been implemented. Only a state offer to buy Southern California Edison,
s transmission lines, which the legislature appears unlikely to approve, is 
keeping that utility from declaring bankruptcy, he said.

Meanwhile, California electric rates have gone up very little, providing no 
incentive for customers to use less power, McClary said. The high utility 
prices Californians complain about on the TV news are natural gas rates, he 
said.

Peter Smith, vice president of programs for NYSERDA, outlined demand 
reduction measures being advanced by the agency, and emphasized the need for 
more natural gas supply in the state.

 &The reliability of the electric system hinges on the reliability of the 
natural gas system,,, Smith said.

Paul Powers, director of the Department of Public Service,s Office of 
Electricity and the Environment outlined the work his agency has done in 
scooping out the state,s electricity needs . NYISO marketing services vice 
president Charles King spelled out the need for increased capacity to avoid a 
&California meltdown.8

Michael Trunzo, chief executive  officer of the Empire State Petroleum 
Association, Gary Edwards,  an expert on coal supplies with AES Somerset 
Support Team,  and, Richard T. &Rick8 Thatcher, vice president of the 
Wholesale Power Group of Dominion Generation, talked about natural gas 
supplies.

Sam Laniado  and David Johnson, IPPNY counsels, updated attendees on the 
latest developments  at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Public 
Service Commission and the NYISO.

The Tuesday reception, held on the observation deck of the Empire State Plaza,
s Corning Tower, was well attended  by lawmakers, IPPNY members, and 
administration officials.

Extensive media coverage of the IPPNY conference   highlights the key role 
IPPNY plays in New York,s energy marketplace, Donohue said.

The conference was covered by the Associated Press, Ottoway News Service, 
Albany Times Union, the Daily Gazette in Schenectady, Gannet, Bloomberg, Dow 
Jones, Johnson Newspapers, public television,s Inside Albany show, three 
Albany-area television stations, and radio stations in Albany and across the 
state. 

Interest was so intense, in fact, a Bloomberg online news service reporter 
seeking a taped interview outlining IPPNY,s energy views, called IPPNY 
President Roger Kelley at 6:30 a.m. the day after the conference.
###