Agenda Day 1

9:00 am

Mountain Time: Introduction & Overview

Rikki Seguin , Program Co-Chair, Executive Director
Interwest Energy Alliance / Albuquerque, NM

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

Nikolas S. Stoffel, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Holland & Hart / Denver, CO

9:15 am

FERC Update

Key recent decisions and pending cases to watch, particularly with respect to development of, and cost recovery for, transmission facilities to get Southwestern renewables to market

Jette Gebhart, Esq. , Director - Office of Energy Market Regulation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission / Washington, DC

10:00 am

Break

10:15 am

Transmission Development: State Regulatory Involvement Where the Rubber Meets the Road

New Mexico's Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA): Scope it its authority and how it works

Fernando Martinez , Executive Director
Renewable Energy Transmission Authority / Santa Fe, NM

Colorado's newly created Electric Transmission Authority (CETA): Addressing the need for a Developer of Last Resort to to meet the state's need for transmission when a private sector entity does not step forward

Maury Galbraith , Executive Director
Colorado Electric Transmission Authority / Denver, CO

11:30 am

Who Should Build What for New Infrastructure?

Diversified facility construction and ownership by independent power producers and utilities: Update on efforts to inject competition into procurement processes in the region

Lisa Tormoen Hickey, Esq. , Senior Regulatory Counsel
Interwest Energy Alliance / Albuquerque, NM

12:15 pm

Lunch Break

1:15 pm

Regional Legislative and Administrative Policy Developments

Arizona

Greg Patterson, CPA, Esq. , Director
Arizona Competitive Power Alliance / Phoenix, AZ

Colorado

Nikolas S. Stoffel, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Holland & Hart / Denver, CO

Nevada

Matt Morris, Esq.
Holland & Hart / Reno, NV

New Mexico

Rikki Seguin , Program Co-Chair
Interwest Energy Alliance / Albuquerque, NM

Utah

Phillip J. Russell, Esq.
James Dodge Russell & Stephens / Salt Lake City, UT

3:15 pm

Break

3:30 pm

Day Ahead Market and RTO Developments

Southwest Power Pool: Development of a voluntary Capacity Sharing Program as a compliment to the Energy Imbalance Market for addressing anticipated capacity shortages in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states

Carrie Simpson, Esq. , Director of Western Services Development
Southwest Power Pool / Little Rock, AR

California Independent System Operator is working with stakeholders on a day ahead market for the region, capitalizing on the significant benefits of the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM)

Anna McKenna, Esq. , VP of Market Design and Analysis
California Independent System Operator / Folsom, CA

5:00 pm

Adjourn Day 1

Friday, August 25, 2023

9:00 am

Special Day 2 Opening Address: What to Expect for Federal Energy Policy Initiatives in the Current Political Climate

A former FERC Commissioner's perspective on the past, present, and future for the FERC on the types of issues of greatest importance to the Southwest

Richard A. Glick, Esq. , Principal
GQ New Energy Strategies / Alexandria, VA

9:30 am

Supply and Demand Factors Affecting Southwestern Electric Markets

Case study of load growth from decarbonizing oil and gas production in the Permian Basin: Results of the recent load study for ERCOT's planning committee

Min Rao , Consulting Director, Commodity Insights
S&P Global Commodity Insights / Houston, TX

10:15 am

Break

10:30 am

Hydrogen and Hydrogen Hubs in the Southwest

The potential for hydrogen to decarbonize the industrial sector and to stimulate wind and solar as feedstock power supplies; the Department of Energy's recently released guidance document establishing the Clean Hydrogen Production Standard ("CHPS")

Pete Budden, Ph.D. , Advocate, Climate & Clean Energy Program
Natural Resources Defense Council / New York, NY

Case study of Air Products' 10 metric ton per day liquid hydrogen plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, to be run with zero-carbon renewable power and intended to support zero-emissions mobility in California

Jeffrey E. Norman , VP, Large Project Business Development
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. / Allentown, PA

Development of hydrogen hubs in the Southwest: Progress report on the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub (WISHH) Coalition's application to obtain regional clean hydrogen hub funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Anja Richmond , Program Director
Wyoming Energy Authority / Cheyenne, WY

12:15 pm

Lunch Break

1:15 pm

Impact of the Social Justice Movement on Project Permitting

Current issues at the interface of federal energy and environmental policy, including the continued growth in the importance of social just issues

Nicole Sitaraman , Acting Director, Office of Public Participation
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission / Washington, DC

Stakeholder view of what has been accomplished for integration of energy and environmental/social policy and the work that still needs to be done

Dana Johnson , Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy
WE ACT for Environmental Justice / Washington, DC

2:15 pm

Break

2:30 pm

SCOTUS Revisits Chevron Deference: The Implications for Energy Facilty Siting

Siting processes and challenges under existing law: Case study of the path from concept to commencement of construction for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project

Adam Cernea Clark, Esq. , Director of Permitting and Policy Strategy
Pattern Energy Group / San Francisco, CA

Perspectives on the pros and cons of deference under Chevron and the potential impact on the certainty of siting processes and an applicant's ability to rely on a favorable agency decision when seeking funding and beginning construction

Doug Little , Principal
Arizona Energy Associates / Scottsdale, AZ

Cary Glynn, Esq.
Steptoe & Johnson / Washington, DC

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

4:00 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Rikki Seguin, Program Co-Chair, is Executive Director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a regional trade association representing some of the largest developers and manufacturers of large-scale renewable energy in the world. Prior to joining Interwest, she oversaw the development and implementation of a regional policy agenda to support responsible development of renewable energy across the Pacific Northwest.

Marc L. Spitzer, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Steptoe & Johnson. He represents utilities and energy companies before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), at state utility commissions, Congress, federal agencies, and state legislatures. He formerly served as a FERC commissioner, as Chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission, and in the Arizona State Senate.

Nikolas S. Stoffel, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Holland & Hart where he focuses on the federal and state regulation of electric and gas utilities, oil and gas pipelines, and electricity markets. His clients include large energy consumers, industrial and commercial electric customers, natural gas distribution companies, oil and gas pipelines, qualifying facilities, project developers, and independent power producers.

Pete Budden, Ph.D., is an Advocate in the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate & Clean Energy Program and leads NRDC's state and regional-level hydrogen policy work. He previously worked for the Climate Change Committee in the UK as an industrial decarbonization analyst, where he modeled decarbonization pathways for the UK industrial sector, assessing the emissions reductions potential of competing technologies, including hydrogen.

Adam Cernea Clark is Director of Permitting and Policy Strategy for Pattern Energy Group. He has extensive experience working on diverse natural resource issues related to permitting and environmental policy and has worked on major infrastructure projects including inter-state transmission facilities and the largest single-phase wind generation project in the history of North America.

Maury Galbraith is Executive Director of the Colorado Electric Transmission Authority. He previously served as Executive Director of the Western Interstate Energy Board and as Energy Division Administrator for the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

Jette Gebhart is Director of the Office of Energy Market Regulation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She previously served as Co-Chief of Staff to Chairman Cheryl LaFleur and as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rich Glick is a Principal at GQ New Energy Strategies. He formerly served as Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and held senior positions in the United States Senate, the Department of Energy, and for a major clean energy developer. As a consultant, he is working with Gridworks on their Western States Transmission Initiative (WSTI), a collaborative effort among leading regulators, policymakers, and thought leaders.

Cary Glynn, Steptoe & Johnson, focuses on counseling clients on energy regulatory matters, particularly before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Dana Johnson is Senior Director of Strategy and Federal Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice and leads an advocacy, regulatory and policy-setting team. She also is a Board Member of Green 2.0, and on the Advisory Council of the State Energy & Impact Center of NYU School of Law.

Doug Little is a Principal at Arizona Energy Associates. He is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental and External Affairs, US Department of Energy and Chairman of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Fernando Martinez is the Executive Director of the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority. He previously held senior natural resource positions in New Mexico state government with the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and the Environment Department, including Manager of the Mining Act Reclamation Program, Chief of the Drinking Water Bureau, Director of the Energy Conservation and Management Division, and Director of the Mining and Minerals Division.

Anna McKenna is VP of Market Design and Analysis for the California Independent System Operator. She oversees the development of market and infrastructure policy, market performance analysis and validation, short-term forecasting and California regulatory affairs.

Matt Morris, Holland & Hart, helps energy project clients navigate the complex permitting, regulatory compliance matters, and litigation, their projects may face. He formerly served as Legislative Director and Senior Policy Analyst for Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and working as a staffer in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

Jeffrey E. Norman is VP for Large Project Business Development in the Americas for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. He is responsible for leading the development of Air Products' growing portfolio of large-scale low-carbon hydrogen projects in the Americas. Prior to joining Air Products, Mr. Norman served as Head of Country for TotalEnergies Renewables International in Qatar where he was executing and developing large utility scale solar PV projects.

Greg Patterson, CPA, is D irector of the Arizona Competitive Power Alliance and the New Mexico Independent Power Producers Association. He formerly served as Director of the Residential Utility Consumer Office.

Min Rao is a Consulting Director for Commodity Insights at S&P Global Commodity Insights. Her expertise includes low carbon strategies, Carbon Capture Utiization and Storage projects, and CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery Market Assessment. She co-authored the load study that S&P Global performed for ERCOT to forecast electric load growth from decarbonization of oil and gas production in the Permain Basin.

Anja Richmond is the Program Director for the Wyoming Energy Authority and has been leading the hydrogen initiative. She also serves as the Program Director for the Western Interstate Hydrogen Hub (WISHH), a four-state collaboration between Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming which was created to secure federal funding to develop a hydrogen economy in the region.

Phillip J. Russell, President of James Dodge Russell & Stephens, represents a broad spectrum of energy clients, including industrial and commercial energy users, municipal and cooperative utilities, and renewable energy project developers. His energy clients include the Utah Association of Energy Users and the Community Renewable Energy Agency in its efforts to develop a Program with Rocky Mountain Power to enable residents in numerous Utah Communities to receive 100% of their electricity needs from renewable resources.

Carrie Simpson is Director of Western Services Development for the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). She rejoined SPP after working as Director of Western Markets for Xcel Energy, Director of Market Operations & Assistant Counsel at Guzman Energy, and Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Invenergy.

Nicole Sitaraman is Acting Director of the Office of Public Participation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She previously was VP for External Affairs & Policy at Sustainable Capital Advisors, Senior Manager for Public Policy at Sunrun, and Assistant People's Counsel at the Office of the People's Counsel for the District of Columbia.

Lisa Tormoen Hickey is Senior Regulatory Counsel for Interwest Energy Alliance. She specializes in energy regulation and market analysis, promoting renewable energy across the Intermountain West. This includes representation of regional non-profit entities focusing on energy and natural resource conservation.

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: This program qualifies for 12.00 CA MCLE, 14.00 CO MCLE, 11.70 NM MCLE, 11.50 NV MCLE, 11.75 OR MCLE, 11.50 UT MCLE, 11.75 WA MCLE, and 11.75 ABCEP environmental professional credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

I appreciate LSI's seamless segue from registration, an informative seminar, to end result.

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