NARUC 128th Annual Committee Meeting

Agenda


Print Program
(Includes content available as of November 2, 2016)


Concurrent Session Speaker Biographies

Staff Subcommittee on Gas

This agenda is subject to change.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Location: Flores 1 & 2
9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

GTI Updates

Presenter: Ron Edelstein, Director, Regulatory and Government Relations, Gas Technology Institute
9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.

NRRI Update & Regional Regulatory Updates

Presentation of the latest research activitiesat NRRI, to be followed by an "open mike" discuscussion of relevant natural gas related news

Moderator: Andreas D. Thanos, Chair Staff Subcommitte on Gas

Presenter: Ken Costello, NRRI
9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Managing Price Volatility in the Competitive Retail Natural Gas Market

Gas retail competition has become a reality in most of the country.  Over the past 100 years or so, natural gas customers became accustomed to the “regulated price” provided to them by the gas utility. 
As consumers move to competitive suppliers, these suppliers have to compete with each other in terms of service and pricing, but also with the established safety of the regulated utility prices. 

Although gas commodity prices are at the lowest they have been in decades, the potential for an uptick, whether seasonal or otherwise, is always likely.  Any price fluctuation, particularly an upward move, will affect the consumer, the supplier and ultimately the regulatory commission.  It is therefore important , that we all have a good understanding of “what is available out there.”

The panelists will discuss the near-term outlook and expectations for natural gas based on production trends and regional transportation and storage capabilities. It will review the tools used by the respective companies to ensure that their customers are protected, to the extent possible, from the unpredictability of the market.

Moderator: Andreas D. Thanos, Chair, Staff Subcommittee on Gas

Panelists:
Jennifer Fordham, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Natural Gas Supply Association

Ron Cerniglia, Director Government & Regulatory Affairs, Direct Energy

Mark Reese, Vice President, U.S. Gas Supply, Just Energy

Bob Anderson, Executive Director, Committee of Chief Risk Officers
10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.

U.S. DOE: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces

(Joint session with the Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment)

On September 23, 2016 the US Department of Energy issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNOPR) on the Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces. 

According to the DOE, the SNOPR responds to comments received on the (9/14/15) NOPR and Notice of Data Availability (NODA) and is making a modified proposal regarding amended energy conservation standards for residential furnaces. The notice, further, requests comment on the SNOPR's proposed standards and associated analyses and results.  The DOE will accept comments through November 22, 2016.

This SNOPR has already raised some controversy, and a robust discussion on the merits of the DOE proposal.

The panel will address the availability of technologies, and discuss the level of benefits that can accrue the environment in general and consumers in particular.  

Moderators:
Karen R. Olesky, Chair, Staff Subcommittee on Energy Resources and the Environment

Andreas D. Thanos, Chair, Staff Subcommittee on Gas

Panelists:
Ron, Edelstein, Director, Regulatory and Government Relations, Gas Technology Institute

Elizabeth Noll, Legislative Director, Energy & Transportation,  Natural Resources Defense Council

David Weaver, Vice President - Enterprise External Affairs, Southern Company Gas