9:00-10:00 a.m.

Competitive Markets at a Crossroads?

Competitive energy markets have been operating in the US for over 20 years. Competitive markets were originally born out of customer frustration with the high cost of coal and nuclear generation and later reinvigorated by the cost savings potential of pooled resources. Markets have often been a vehicle for delivering new services and options to customers in the electric industry. Now, as we stand on the verge of the next generation revolution with utility scale renewables costs quickly approaching the levelized cost of natural gas, it is time to reflect on the cost and realized benefits of electricity restructuring and market development in the United States. This panel will focus on growing pains and lessons learned from the last two decades of electricity restructuring and how we can leverage these learnings to maximize customer benefits as we look to transition to a low-carbon future.  

Moderators: 

Hon. DeAnn Walker, Texas 

Hon. Beth Trombold, Ohio

Panelists:

Alison Silverstein, Independent Consultant, Alison Silverstein Consulting

Mike Jacobs, Senior Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists

Mason Emnett, Vice President of Competitive Markets, Exelon

Business Meeting

The business meeting will include an update from Vermont Law. Richard Mroz will speak to the law school’s partnership with Protect Our Power, an organization conducting research on grid security and resilience. Mark James will also present the key findings of the Phase 2 report on State regulatory issues and cybersecurity

Energy and Regulatory Transitions: State Updates

States across the country are seeing changes in technology and the energy resource mix. This panel will provide a glimpse into the efforts of four States responding to these changes and transforming their states’ generation portfolios through regulatory initiatives that include both traditional and innovative tools. Commissioners from different regions will present their views on how these changes are occurring, regulatory policies that support them and impacts on ratepayers from an affordability and reliability perspective

Moderator: 

Hon. Judith Williams Jagdmann, Virginia

Panelists:

Hon. Anthony O’Donnell, Maryland

Hon. Charlotte Mitchell, North Carolina

Hon. Richard Lozier, Jr., Iowa 

Hon. Kara Fornstrom, Wyoming