Agenda Day 1

8:00 am

Registration Opens

8:30 am

Introduction & Overview

Michelle Brandt King, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Holland & Hart / Denver, CO

Steve Michel, Esq. , Program Co-Chair, Chief of Policy Development
Western Resource Advocates / Santa Fe, NM

Marc L. Spitzer, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Steptoe & Johnson / Washington, DC

8:45 am

Federal Energy Resource Development Policy

The federal emphasis on development of traditional fossil fuel energy resources

Thomas M. Hnasko, Esq.
Hinkle Shanor / Santa Fe, NM

Trade policy and the potential impact of the imposition of tariffs on imported solar panels: To what extent can we expect tariffs to slow the growth of solar and change market dynamics in favor of fossil fueled generating plants?

Judy Chang , Principal
The Brattle Group / Cambridge, MA

Tax policy: Impact of the anticipated expiration of the federal Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (PTC); provisions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 affecting energy production

Phillip G. Oldham, Esq.
Thompson & Knight / Austin, TX

10:30 am

Break

10:45 am

Market Realities for Coal: Continued Plant Closures and Recovery of Stranded Costs

State government and consumer preferences for clean power; prospects for carbon taxes and expanded cap & trade markets; regional resource dispatch structures; resulting utility plans for accelerated plant retirement before renewable tax credits expire

Patrick Cummins , Senior Policy Advisor
Center for New Energy Economy / Denver, CO

Utility recovery of stranded costs

Matthew S. Larson, Esq.
Wilkinson Barker Knauer / Denver, CO

Noah B. Long, Esq. , Legal Director, Western Energy Project
Natural Resources Defense Council / Santa Fe, NM

12:15 pm

Lunch (on your own)

1:30 pm

FERC Update Following the Return of a Quorum

Policy priorities at the McIntyre commission; ratemaking authority to impose retroactive surcharges; Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing Proceeding; related NERC activity on standards and enforcement, including cyber security; other developments

Jeffery S. Dennis, Esq. , Special Counsel
Jenner & Block LLP / Washington, DC

2:15 pm

Storage as the Next Breakthrough Technological Solution: Utility Scale and Off the Grid Options

Developments leading to falling battery prices; FERC Order 841 and participation in RTO & ISO markets; interplay with resiliency

William H. Holmes, Esq.
K&L Gates / Portland, OR

Ensuring safe operations of new technologies: Update on storage safety concerns and progress towards resolving them in California

Arthur J. O'Donnell , Risk Assessment Supervisor
California Public Utilities Commission / San Francisco, CA

3:00 pm

Break

3:15 pm

Special State Policy Panel: The Interplay between State Energy Adequacy Policy and State Regulatory Policy in Light of Federal and Market Developments

Overview: Resource development and siting; conservation programs; ratemaking and other regulatory issues; how the state offices interact

Steve Michel, Esq. , Program Co-Chair, Moderator
Western Resource Advocates / Santa Fe, NM

Commissioner perspectives

The Hon. Kara Brighton Fornstrom, Esq. , Deputy Chair
Wyoming Public Service Commission / Cheyenne, WY

The Hon. Sandy Jones , Commissioner
New Mexico Public Regulation Commission / Santa Fe, NM

4:30 pm

Customer Preferences for Cleaner Power

Nevada: Legislative and policy initiatives to deregulate supply and allow customers to buy power on the open market

Cameron Dyer, Esq.
Western Resource Advocates / Carson City, NV

5:00 pm

Continue the Exchange of Ideas: Reception for Faculty and Attendees

Sponsored by Holland & Hart LLP and Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

8:30 am

Customer Preferences (cont'd): The Push by Local Governments for Customer Choice

Utah: The State's exploration of options for a path towards a clean energy future ranging from community aggregation to acquisition of utility facilities

Gary A. Dodge, Esq.
Hatch James & Dodge / Salt Lake City, UT

Colorado: Update on the City of Boulder's ongoing effort to municipalize its electric distribution system

Tom Carr, Esq. , City Attorney
City of Boulder / Boulder, CO

9:45 am

Customer/Utility Partnerships for Renewable Energy Projects

Key terms for creating win-win outcomes; drafting tips for getting the details right

Mark Valentine, Esq.
Keyes & Fox / Denver, CO

10:30 am

Break

10:45 am

Regionalization of Market Operations: Expansion of ISO's, RTO's, and EIMs

Perspectives on how the politics and economics are working out; prospects for regional balancing of intermittent renewables so that they can take on more of the characteristics of base load generation; other key issues

Marc L. Spitzer, Esq. , Program Co-Chair, Moderator
Steptoe & Johnson / Washington, DC

Joseph P. Hoerner , VP, Energy Supply Management
Pacific Power / Portland, OR

Don Fuller , Director, Strategic Alliances
California ISO / Folsom, CA

Paul Suskie, Esq. , Executive VP, Regulatory and General Counsel
Southwest Power Pool / Little Rock, AR

Timothy B. Woolley, Esq.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association / Westminster, CO

Joseph C. Taylor , Manager, Transmission Access
Public Service Company of Colorado / Denver, CO

12:15 pm

Lunch (on your own)

1:30 pm

Getting Steel into the Ground for Transmission to California Markets

A regional look at the most contentious siting issues; impacts on developer access to financing; creative problem solving to move projects ahead

Alan J. Statman, Esq.
Al Statman LLC / Santa Fe, NM

Jason Smith , President
TransCanyon LLC / Phoenix, AZ

Scott Medla , Managing Partner
Ansonia Partners / New York, NY

Todd Fridley , Vice President of New Mexico Operations
Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) / Albuquerque, NM

Nann M. Winter, Esq.
Stelzner Winter Warburton Flores Sanchez Dawes / Albuquerque, NM

3:00 pm

Break

3:15 pm

Individual Customer Choice: Trends in Migration Away from Reliance on the Grid and the Impact on Ratemaking for Utilities

Addressing the economic impacts on grid operations: Trends in how regulatory commissions are pricing backup services and addressing stranded distribution costs; potential interplay with tax reductions for utilities in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Judy Chang, Esq. , Principal
The Brattle Group / Cambridge, MA

4:30 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Michelle Brandt King, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Holland & Hart. She ifocuses on ndustrial and commercial electric retail customers, independent power producers, renewable energy developers, and municipalities throughout the Mountain West.

Steve Michel, Program Co-Chair, is Chief of Policy Development at Western Resource Advocates.

Marc L. Spitzer, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson. He formerly served as a FERC commissioner and as chair of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The Hon. Kara Brighton Fornstrom is Deputy Chair of the Wyoming Public Service Commission.

Tom Carr is the City Attorney for the City of Boulder, Colorado.

Judy Chang of The Brattle Group is an energy economist and policy expert with a background in electrical engineering.

Patrick Cummins is Senior Policy Advisor at the Center for New Energy Economy.

Gary A. Dodge, a shareholder at Hatch James & Dodge, focuses on energy, regulatory and utility matters.

Cameron Dyer is a Staff Attorney with Western Resource Advocates. Prior to joining WRA, he worked as an attorney for the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.

Todd Fridley is Vice President of New Mexico Operations for Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM).

Don Fuller is Director of Strategic Alliances at the California ISO.

Thomas M. Hnasko is a partner at Hinkle Shanor and focuses on natural resource and environmental issues.

Joseph P. Hoerner is VP, Energy Supply Management for Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp.

William H. Holmes is a partner at K&L Gates and focuses on renewable energy and infrastructure projects.

The Hon. Sandy Jones is the Commissioner for the 5th District of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

Matthew S. Larson is a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer and represents utilities.

Noah B. Long is Legal Director, Western Energy Project for Natural Resources Defense Council. He manages NRDC's Intermountain west and Pacific Northwestern clean energy work and coordinates a national network of advocates supporting strong and effective carbon standards for power plants.

Scott Medla is Managing Partner at Ansonia Partners. Prior to founding Ansonia Partners, he founded TAG Energy.

Arthur J. O'Donnell is Risk Assessment Supervisor in the Safety & Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission. He previously workde in the Grid Planning and Reliability Section of the CPUC's Energy Division. A former reporter and blogger, he has written for books focusing on energy issues in California.

Phillip G. Oldham is the firm-wide Government and Regulatory Practice Leader for Thompson & Knight.

Jason Smith is President of TransCanyon, President TransCanyon, a joint venture between Mid American Transmission and Bright Canyon Energy and General Manager, Bright Canyon Energy, an affiliate of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation.

Alan J. Statman, Al Statman LLC, was a founder of Trans-Elect, Inc., North America's first independent transmission company.

Paul Suskie is Executive VP, Regulatory and General Counsel for the Southwest Power Pool. Previously, he was Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

Joseph C. Taylor is Manager, Transmission Access of Public Service Company of Colorado

Mark Valentine is a partner at Keyes & Fox. He formerly served as counsel to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

Nann M. Winter, Stelzner Winter Warburton Flores Sanchez Dawes PA, focuses on the inter-relationship of incumbent utility practices and local government rights and powers.

Timothy B. Woolley is an attorney for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: This program qualifies for 12.7 New Mexico and 12.75 Washington MCLE credits. Upon request, we will apply for, or help you apply for, CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

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