On May 15, 2001, National Grid filed a petition for declatory order in Docket No. EL01-80 asking the FERC to find that it is not a "market participant" with respect to the ARTO region in order that it can seek to become the Managing Member of the Alliance RTO.  The filing was noticed and comments/protests are due June 14, 2001.

National Grid, a company that operates in New England, claims that it retains only insignificant generation assets and wholesale marketing operations in regions remote from the Alliance region (i.e. New England and New York after the NIMO merger is completed).  It has minor "last resort" sales obligations which they expect to terminate by 2005.  National Grid will not be providing ancillary services to the ARTO region.

Let me know if there are any concerns with this filing that EPMI should raise to the FERC.