2010 Mid-America Regulatory Conference
2010 Mid-America Regulatory Conferencehttp://marc-conference.org/2010/
TENTATIVE CONFERENCE AGENDA
NOTE: Speakers & sessions are still being added. If you're interested in being added to a panel or adding something to the agenda, please let us know.| Saturday, June 5, 2010 | |
| 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm | MARC Registration Hotel Lobby |
| 4:00 pm | Kansas City Royals Baseball Game (Royals vs. Detroit) bus will leave the hotel at 4 pm, game starts at 6 pm Kauffman Stadium |
| Sunday, June 6, 2010 | |
| 7:00 am – 7:30 am | Breakfast for Golfers Washington Park 1 (lobby level) |
| 7:45 am | Golfers' Bus Departs From Hotel Lobby |
| 8:30 am – 4:00 pm | MARC Registration Hotel Lobby |
| 9:00 am – 2:00 pm | Golf Tournament Shoal Creek Golf Course |
| 9:00 am – 11:00 am | NARUC/DOE CCS Partnership will be hosting the “Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) Policy Dialogue” – followed by a Tour of KCP&L's Iatan II 850-MW Supercritical Coal Plant in Weston, Missouri (bus departs at 11:00 am) Liberty |
| 10:00 am – 3:00 pm | Tour of Wind Farm King City, Missouri |
| 11:00 am – 4:00 pm | Tour of KCP&L's Iatan II 850-MW Supercritical Coal Plant Weston, Missouri |
| 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm | Welcome Reception at the Liberty Memorial WWI Museum (Tower and Museum will be open for viewing from 5 – 8 pm) |
| Monday, June 7, 2010 | |
| 7:00 am – 5:00 pm | MARC Registration Roanoke Foyer |
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | Continental Breakfast Century C |
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | Midwestern Governors Association Briefing Liberty |
| 8:15 am | Call to Order & Missouri Welcome
Opening Remarks
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| 8:30 am – 9:30 am | General Session
Century C “Planning the plan for all the plans.” With all the transmission planning that is taking place, how do we ensure that the transmission plans actually get built? |
| 9:30 am – 10:30 am | Concurrent Morning Sessions
-Session 1 - The National Broadband Plan and its effects on USF and intercarrier compensation (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Shawnee Mission Congress has charged the FCC with creating a national broadband plan. This plan — a roadmap toward achieving the goal of ensuring that all Americans reap the benefits of broadband — may cause policy makers to rethink traditional federal support mechanisms, incentives and universal service objectives. This panel will explore those implications. Moderator: Krista Tanner, Board Member, Iowa Utilities Board
-Session 2 - Integrating Renewables on the Grid: Meeting the challenge of the midwest's energy future (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty What are the legal and physical hurdles to integrating renewables onto the nation's electric grid? What effect will a nationwide RPS have on the transmission grid and can we afford it? This panel will tackle all of those issues and more. Moderator: John Colgan, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission
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| 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Networking Break Roanoke Foyer |
| 10:45 am – 11:55 am | Concurrent Morning Sessions
-Session 3 – Infrastructure Investment in 2010 & Beyond: How can utilities gain regulatory approval and obtain cost recovery in this environment? (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Shawnee Mission Utility infrastructure investments are becoming increasingly expensive and complex. This panel look will look at the best practices for gaining regulatory approval and timely cost recovery for significant infrastructure investments. Moderator: Jeff Cloud, Commissioner, Oklahoma Corporation Commission
-Session 4 – Electric Cars: Can we charge our way to a carbon-free future? Liberty Electric vehicles are moving rapidly from prototypes to the American marketplace. Regulators, utilities and third-party providers will face new challenges in shaping demand peaks, distribution systems and even generation as they attempt to power America's emergence in carbon-free transportation. Moderator: Orjiakor Isiogu – Chairman, Michigan Public Service Commission
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| 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm | President's Luncheon and Keynote Address
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| 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm |
Concurrent Afternoon Sessions
-Session 5 – Net Neutrality: Is it possible? Shawnee Mission Calls for broadband providers to treat all content alike in pricing and access are raising public policy concerns on all sides. Broadband providers, including telecommunications carriers and cable companies, need to be able to manage and protect their networks and don't want government intervention in the process. Content providers such as Google and eBay don't want higher fees or possible restrictions. Does the Internet really need a traffic cop or is there a role for some new rules on the Information Superhighway? Moderator: Krista Tanner, Commissioner, Iowa Utilities Board
-Session 6 – Small, Scalable Nuclear Generation: What role might it play in our nation's clean energy future? (75 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty As America revitalizes its nuclear energy industry, new small reactor designs are being developed to complement the large evolutionary designs being deployed today. Where might these new small nuclear reactors be deployed? What new challenges lie ahead for regulators and companies? Our panel of experts will explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in America's new era in nuclear energy generation. Moderator: Paul Genoa, Director of Policy Development, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI)
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| 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm | Networking Break Roanoke Foyer |
| 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Concurrent Afternoon Sessions
-Session 7 – Utility Investment 101: What every regulator needs to know about how the investment landscape has changed … (90 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Shawnee Mission The subprime market correction that began in 2008 will have a lasting affect on the investment landscape for utilities. The inability of utilities to issue "commercial paper," the loss of a number of investment banking firms on Wall Street and wary investors are now affecting the market for utility capital. How can utilities attract low-cost capital and what role do regulators play? Moderator: Mark Meyer, Commissioner, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
-Session 8 – Small Water & Sewer Company Viability – Are they a dying breed and what can regulators do about them? (90 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty New environmental regulations are increasing the O & M costs for water and sewer companies. Is the traditional approach of regulation going to work for small systems in the future? Are quality service and affordable rates impossible to attain in some areas? This panel will examine the legal and regulatory hurdles facing small water and sewer operators. Moderator: Fred Butler, Executive Vice President, Salmon Ventures, Ltd.
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| 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm | Reception Century C |
| 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Young Guests' Dinner and Entertainment Royal Suite |
| 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | President's Banquet and Keynote Address
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| Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | |
| 7:00 am – 5:00 pm | MARC Registration Roanoke Foyer |
| 7:30 am – 8:30 am | MARC Commissioners' Breakfast and Annual Business Meeting Union Hill |
| 7:30 am – 8:30 am | Continental Breakfast Century C |
| 8:30 am – 9:30 am | General Session
Century C The Commission's implementation of the recommendations in the National Broadband Plan, including its proposed reform of the universal service fund and its other policies relating to the deployment of broadband to all Americans. |
| 9:30 am – 12:00 pm | Sprint Executive Briefing Center Tour Overland Park, Kansas |
| 9:30 am – 10:30 am | Concurrent Morning Sessions
-Session 9 - Energy Efficiency and Demand Response: How do we make the most out of using less energy? Liberty Everyone agrees that using less energy means more in benefits. With a regulatory landscape inundated with great ideas from demand response to energy efficiency, which approaches hold the greatest benefit for energy uses and the lowest costs for energy providers? This panel considers the options available today to help shape a better energy future for everyone. Moderator: Terry Jarrett, Commissioner, Missouri Public Service Commission
-Session 10 – Increasing Diversity at Public Utility Commissions and in the Utility Workforce: Is there a problem and what can we do differently? Shawnee Mission The decennial U.S. Census will provide a timely perspective on changes in America's demographic makeup. Are utilities and regulatory commission making the most of opportunities to achieve workforce diversity? What can be learned from other sectors to help achieve inclusion in processes and decisions that affect both companies and consumers? Moderator: Valerie Lemmie, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
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| 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Networking Break Roanoke Foyer |
| 10:45 am – 11:45 am | Concurrent Morning Sessions
-Session 11 – 2010 & The Odyssey of Affordability: How can regulators, utilities and consumers reconcile the need to raise rates with affordability? (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty With unemployment hovering around 10 percent and many U.S. manufacturers seeing stiff competition from overseas, it's a challenging time to seek a rate increase. Yet, the need for capital investment for new infrastructure investment and new technologies is growing. This panel will look at the careful balance act regulators will be expected to achieve in coming years. Moderator: Kevin Gunn, Commissioner, Missouri Public Service Commission
-Session 12 – Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em: how do we handle our fleet of aging plants? (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Shawnee Mission What options to manage aging generation assets are available to regulators and utilities? Evolving environmental regulations, fuel price volatility and a potential price on carbon all put pressure on older generation assets. How do you decide whether to close a plant, whether to retrofit with advanced technologies or to replace it with another technology? Moderator: Erin O'Connell-Diaz, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission
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| 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm | South Dakota Sponsored Luncheon Host of MARC 2011 Commissioner Steve Kolbeck, South Dakota MARC Vice President Century C |
| 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm |
-Session 13 – Professionalism in Administrative Law Practice
(60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty What are the responsibilities of clients, their lawyers and non-lawyer assistants when dealing with administrative tribunals? This session will examine issues including the merit of claims, candor due the tribunal, fairness to opposing parties and trial publicity.
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| 1:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Green Zone/Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) Headquarters Tour |
| 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm | Concurrent Afternoon Sessions
-Session 14 – Dissecting Smart Grid Opportunities: Do we need a smarter grid or just more grid? What's the difference? Shawnee Mission A number of companies are banking their futures on the "smart grid." This panel will look at some examples of this new technology and examines the proposition of how "smart grid" will improve the quality of service or save money. Moderator: Ben Boyd, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Aclara
-Session 15 – The Ethics of Commission Communications (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Liberty Is there a conflict between ethics and information-gathering? To do their jobs well, utility regulators need objective information and knowledge. Sometimes that information lies within the brains and experiences of organizations with business before a commission. Are formal proceedings the only "ethical" way for regulators to educate themselves? If not, then how?
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| 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm | Networking Break Roanoke Foyer |
| 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Keynote Speaker: NARUC President David Coen, Vermont Public Service Board
(30 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Century C David Coen will update us on the latest developments coming out of Washington that affect state public utility commissions including cap-and-trade legislation, the quest for a national renewable portfolio standard, the blue ribbon panel studying alternatives to Yucca Mountain, Universal Service Fund (USF) reform and more. |
| 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | General Session
A tale of two tariffs: Will MISO and SPP transmission tariffs deliver new transmission and at what costs? (60 minutes of CLE Accreditation) Century C MISO and SPP facilitate transmission to nearly half the United States, yet each uses different strategies and approaches for cost allocations, construction, pricing and practices. What are the advantages and limitations of each model and what can we learn from the applications developed by these respective systems operators? Moderator: Jeff Davis, Commissioner, Missouri Public Service Commission
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| 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Dinner at the College Basketball Experience and National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame at the Sprint Center |
| Wednesday, June 9, 2010 | |
| 7:00 am – 12:00 pm | MARC Registration Roanoke Foyer |
| 7:00 am – 8:00 am | Continental Breakfast Century C |
| 8:00 am – 9:15 am | CEO Forum
Century C What do the CEOs of some of the nation's largest utilities think about regulation? This panel features the CEOs of some of the Midwest's largest utilities who will talk about the prospects for their respective industries and give them a chance to tell regulators what's important about their business. Moderator: Robert Kenney, Commissioner, Missouri Public Service Commission
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| 9:30 am – 10:45 am | Consumer Forum
Century C This forum gives consumer advocates an opportunity to respond to what the CEOs have said and tell us what they wish regulators better understood about their clients' perspective. Moderator: Anne Boyle, Commissioner, Nebraska Public Service Commission
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| 10:45 am – 11:00 am | Networking Break Roanoke Foyer |
| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Commissioner Forum
Century C This forum will attempt to wrap up the conference by analyzing the week's earlier panels, the views expressed by the CEO and consumer panels and discuss the future challenges awaiting regulators. Moderator: Steve Kolbeck, Commissioner, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
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| 12:00 pm | Conference Ends |