Agenda Day 1

9:00 am

Introduction & Overview

Craig Gannett, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Davis Wright Tremaine / Seattle, WA

Adam C. Lowney, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
McDowell Rackner & Gibson / Portland, OR

9:15 am

The AI Race as a Driver for Federal Energy Policy

The Secretary of Energy's directive for the FERC to initiate a rulemaking to accelerate interconnection of data centers and other developments

Pamela Quinlan , Principal
GQS New Energy Strategies / Alexandria, VA

9:45 am

AI Data Center Development in the Pacific Northwest

Technology company perspective on the Pacific Northwest as a location for data centers and the factors driving selection of power sources and degree of reliance on grid infrastructure

Mariah Kennedy , AI and Energy Policy Consultant
Microsoft Corporation / Issaquah, WA

Waldo Kuipers, Esq. , Assistant General Counsel
Microsoft Corporation / Redmond, WA

10:15 am

Break

10:30 am

What to Expect for Resource Adequacy

Update on E3's 2025 study projecting a growing shortfall in the Pacific Northwest starting in 2026 and suggesting a shift in resource planning methodology to focus on periods when the resource mix is least able to perform as needed

Arne Olson , Senior Partner
Energy and Environmental Economics (E3) / San Francisco, CA

Update on development of the 9th Regional Power Plan and its use of scenario analysis to account for uncertainty in the power planning landscape

Jennifer Light , Director of Power Planning
Northwest Power & Conservation Council / Portland, OR

12:00 pm

Lunch (On Your Own)

1:15 pm

Large Load Challenges and Solutions

Overview: Load growth for Pacific Northwest utilities from data centers, including transmission constraints and other service issues

Randall W. Hardy , Moderator
Hardy Energy Consulting / Seattle, WA

Update on the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) Large Load Task Force report on practical solutions for demand forecasting, transmission planning, system management, and market operations

Samuel Morris , Manager of Load Forecasting & Analysis
ERCOT / Taylor, TX

How regional utilities are adapting their Integrated Resource Plans to accommodate the emergence of large data center loads

Jimmy Lindsay , Director - Resource Planning & Strategy
Portland General Electric / Portland, OR

2:45 pm

Break

3:00 pm

Regional State Regulatory Updates

Primary items on state commission agendas in the Pacific Northwest; regional sate perspectives on NARUC's electric power policy initiatives

Adam C. Lowney, Esq. , Program Co-Chair, Moderator
McDowell Rackner & Gibson / Portland, OR

Idaho

The Hon. John R. Hammond, Jr., Esq. , Commissioner
Idaho Public Utilities Commission / Boise, ID

Oregon

The Hon. Letha Tawney , Chair
Oregon Public Utility Commission / Salem, OR

Washington

The Hon. Brian Rybarik, Esq. , Chair
Utilities and Transportation Commission / Lacey, WA

5:00 pm

Reception for In-Person Faculty & Attendees

Graciously sponsored by Davis Wright Tremaine and McDowell Rackner Gibson

Friday, January 30, 2026

9:00 am

Federal Developments Relating to Transmission Infrastructure and Market Operations

Recent FERC decisions and the potential impact of issues currently pending before the Commission

Douglas W. Smith, Esq.
Van Ness Feldman / Washington, DC

Progress report on implementation of BPA's 2024 Transmission Plan: New infrastructure projects, grid reliability upgrades, and more efficient in planning and transmission rights management; what to expect for future transmission grid expansion

Richard Bustamante , VP of Transmission System Operations
Bonneville Power Administration / Vancouver, WA

10:00 am

Are Washington and Oregon Getting Into the Transmission Infrastructure Business?

The Washington and Oregon legislatures have been considering legislation to create state transmission authorities to develop intrastate transmission lines: How much could this facilitate the movement of clean energy within the region?

Diane Brandt , Policy & Legislative Affairs Director
Renewable Northwest / Portland, OR

Lessons from early adopters of the concept: The Colorado Electric Transmission Authority (CETA)

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

11:00 am

Break

11:15 am

Faster Siting of Transmission Infrastructure and Generating Resources: What Can be Done?

Developer perspective on how the current processes have slowed the region's progress towards its clean renewable energy goals and put it behind many more conservative states for wind and solar development

Spencer Gray , Executive Director
NIPPC / Portland, OR

Agency perspective on the constraints that affect the speed with which it can review applications while fulfilling the environmental protection and other elements of its mission

Sonia E. Bumpus , Executive Director
Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council / Olympia, WA

12:15 pm

Lunch (On Your Own)

1:30 pm

Regional Market Operations

Overview: Energy trading and grid management within the Western Interconnection: Market managers (SPP, WPP, & CAISO) and their management tools (Markets +, EDAM, WEIM, WEIS, WRAP, & WWGPI or Pathways)

Michael N. Kunselman, Esq. , Moderator
Davis Wright Tremaine / Washington, DC

CAISO, EDAM, WEIM, and the markets governance structure

Melissa Doeblin Skelton, Esq. , Lead Regional Affairs Analyst
California Independent System Operator / Folsom, CA

SPP, WEIS, and Markets +

Kelli Schermerhorn, Esq. , Lead Market Design Analyst, Markets+
Southwest Power Pool / Little Rock, AR

WPP and WRAP

Rebecca Sexton , Chief Strategy Officer
Western Power Pool / Portland, OR

Western Interstate Energy Board and West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative

Pamela Sporborg , Director of Transmission and Markets
Portland General Electric / Portland, OR

3:30 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Craig Gannett, Program Co-Chair, is Senior Counsel at Davis Wright Tremaine. He focuses on electric utility regulation, renewable energy development, and climate change-related regulation. He also teaches Climate Change Law at the University of Washington School of Law and is a former President of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, which focuses on the intersection of climate change and national security.

Adam C. Lowney, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at McDowell Rackner & Gibson. He provides regulatory, transactional, litigation, and business advice to electric and natural gas utilities in the Pacific Northwest. This includes representation related to development of new wind resources and transmission resources.

Randall W. Hardy, Moderator, is the Founder of Hardy Energy Consulting. It provides strategic advice to utilities, their customers, and other groups and organizations affected by electricity restructuring. He is the former CEO of Seattle City Light and BPA Administrator.

Michael N. Kunselman, Moderator, is a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine where he focuses on matters involving electricity regulation. Over the past two decades, He has been involved in most of the key regulatory issues facing the electricity industry, including wholesale market design and oversight, generator interconnection, open access, transmission rates, and transmission planning.

Diane Brandt is the Policy & Legislative Affairs Director for Renewable Northwest working to build and implement strategies that support our state and regional goals to decarbonize our electricity sector. This includes work at the state level and engagement with the Northwest's federal delegation members.

Sonia E. Bumpus is the Executive Director of Washington's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) and serves as the SEPA-responsible official for the agency. During her 12 years at EFSEC, she has served in a variety of roles including Siting Specialist, Siting Manager, Siting Compliance Manager, and Manager.

Richard Bustamante is VP of Transmission System Operations for the Bonneville Power Administration. He is responsible for operation of BPA's bulk electric grid and oversees coordination with external parties such as the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, the California Independent System Operator and Western Power Pool.

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.

Spencer Gray is Executive Director of the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition (NIPPC). He worked in Washington, D.C., for a decade as a member of several congressional staffs. His areas of legislative and oversight responsibility included electric power markets, the Bonneville Power Administration, hydroelectric licensing, pollution regulation, and a variety of public land matters.

The Hon. John R. Hammond, Jr. was appointed to his first term with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in January of 2022. Prior to being appointed to the Commission, he worked for the Idaho Office of the Attorney General as a Deputy Attorney General and later as the Commission's lead Deputy Attorney General.

Mariah Kennedy is an AI and Energy Policy Consultant for Microsoft Corporation. She oversees the company's transition to 100% renewable energy (over 19GW procured to date) and rapid expansion to over 300 datacenters across 60 regions. She also has led initiatives enhancing Microsoft's sustainability targets, such as achieving carbon negativity by 2030 and removing historical emissions by 2050.

Waldo Kuipers is an Assistant General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation where he supports energy supply, renewable energy purchasing, and sustainability for Microsoft data centers globally. He previously worked at Senior Corporate Counsel and as Corporate Affairs Manager for Microsoft's New Zealand operations.

Jennifer Light is the Director of Power Planning for the Northwest Power & Conservation Council. She leads a team of power system analysts, coordinates with regional partners across the Pacific Northwest, and oversees the Council's multi-year power planning cycles.

Jimmy Lindsay is the Director for Resource Planning & Strategy at Portland General Electric. He previously worked as PGE's Manager for Commercial Structuring and Origination and in a variety of resource planning and renewable power roles.

Samuel Morris is the Manager of Load Forecasting & Analysis at ERCOT. He previously worked at the Supervisor of Operational Forecasting at ERCOT and as a load forecasting meteorologist for NYISO, Enva Power, and Dominion Energy.

Arne Olson is a Senior Partner at Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3) and leads the firm's Bulk Energy Infrastructure practice. He has led several landmark studies of the feasibility and cost of achieving deep decarbonization and high renewable penetration goals for electric utilities, including studies of 100% renewable and net zero energy systems in New England, California, the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest.

Pamela Quinlan, Co-Founder and Principal at GQS New Energy Strategies, is a former Chief of Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a seasoned participant in various RTO/ISO stakeholder processes. Prior to her time at FERC, she worked in Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Consolidated Edison in New York.

The Hon. Brian Rybarik is Chair of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. He joined the UTC from Microsoft, where he served as its energy director. Previously, he did policy work for an energy-focused non-profit and served as deputy general counsel for a utility in the Midwest.

Kelli Schermerhorn is the Lead Market Design Analyst for Markets+ at the Southwest Power Pool and also serves as staff secretary for the M+ Resource Adequacy Task Force. She previously served as Markets & Optimization Coordinator for NorthWestern Energy.

Rebecca Sexton is the Chief Strategy Officer for Western Power Pool (WPP). She previously was WPP's Director of Reliability Programs and was a Senior Consultant for Sapere Consulting.

Melissa Doeblin Skelton is Lead Regional Affairs Analyst for the California Independent System Operator. She formerly served as a Constituent Account Executive for BPA and as a Service to Bill Program Manager and Regulatory Affairs Strategic Advisor for Seattle City Light.

Douglas W. Smith, a partner at, and co-chair of, Van Ness Feldman, represents clients on regulatory and policy matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy. He also provides counsel on climate change, energy technology, and renewable energy policy. He formerly served as General Counsel of the FERC and as Deputy General Counsel for Energy Policy at DOE.

Pamela Sporborg is Director of Transmission and Markets at Portland General Electric. She manages five teams, including Extended Day Ahead Market Implementation, Market Analytics and Policy, Regional Transmission Development, and Interconnection Services. She is also a regional leader, serving as Co-Chair of the West Wide Governance Pathways Initiative. Previous leadership roles include the CAISO's Governance Review Committee, Chair of the Western EIM Regional Issues Forum, and Chair of the Western EIM Nominating Committee.

The Hon. Letha Tawney is Chair of the Oregon Public Utility Commission. She represents Oregon on the Electricity and the Critical Infrastructure committees for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). She also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Committee of State Representatives (COSR) for the Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP).

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: This program qualifies for 11.00 Washington MCLE, 11.25 California MCLE, 11.00 Idaho MCLE, 11.00 Oregon MCLE, and 11.00 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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