COMPETE and The Energy Daily Host Discussion on Competition

COMPETE AND THE ENERGY DAILY HOST DISCUSSION ON COMPETITION, INNOVATION AND THE NATION’S ENERGY CHALLENGES

FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly Sees Solid Bipartisan Support for Competitive Electricity Markets

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly and a panel of leaders from the public and private sectors discussed the ability of competitive electricity markets to help address the nation’s core energy challenges.  Panelists at the forum, Tomorrow’s Power, focused on competition’s role in facilitating environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial innovations including wind energy, demand response, customer choice, efficiency gains and cutting edge technologies such as plug-in vehicles.  The event was co-hosted by the COMPETE Coalition and The Energy Daily.

The full video of the event is accessible for free via the Energy Daily website

Commenting on the future of electricity competition and the prospects for the administration, Commissioner Kelly noted, “Across the community there is solid, bipartisan support for competitive markets. If you look at the energy policies of Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama, there’s an emphasis on building out infrastructure … the goals of the next administration would be consistent with where FERC has been and wants to go.”
 
Innovation and customer benefits like price were also a focus of the conversation. “We worry about getting natural gas and electricity for the cheapest possible cost,” said panel participant George Waidelich, Vice President, Energy Operations, Safeway. “Bottom line is we save tens of millions of dollars a year because of competitive markets.  We invest those savings in things like the prices our customers pay and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our carbon footprint.  We would not be able to do this if it weren’t for competitive markets.”

Kenneth M. Huber, Manager, Advanced Technologies, PJM Interconnection discussed PJM's efforts to integrate plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into electricity markets. Huber noted that the transparency of pricing and dispatch in organized wholesale markets allow plug-ins to be utilized as potential storage and dispatch for the grid.

The panelists also discussed the roles of new generation sources, reduced usage and greater generating efficiency as means for meeting our nation’s growing demand for electricity while balancing environmental concerns.

Dr. Eric C. Woychik, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Comverge, Inc. addressed the development of demand response programs. “We really like competitive markets.  In a T. Boone Pickens type vision of our energy future, demand response is the glue for integrating new energy systems.  You can use demand response to reduce energy consumption and it is part of the strategy of using less capital and using what we have more efficiently.”

Steven G. Chalk, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy, a participant in the panel discussion, focused on DOE’s study, 20% Wind Energy by 2030: Increasing Wind Energy's Contribution to U.S. Electricity Supply.  Specifically the report focused on how the broad geographic footprints of RTO’s facilitate deployment of wind energy.  In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Chalk also discussed additional infrastructure needs.  “Transmission is really our barrier in the marketplace for renewable energy,” he said.

Sue Wallace, Vice President, Management Projects, Exelon Generation highlighted several studies that have shown increased capacity factors for nuclear plants in competitive markets, particularly when compared to their counterparts in traditionally regulated states.  “Nuclear power plants that operate in states with competitive markets perform better than those in states without competition. Plants in competitive jurisdictions have added new generation at twice the rate, and they’ve improved cost performance, producing nuclear power at a lower cost rate than where we were at ten years ago.  The ability to compete has led to consolidation, sustainability and improved performance,” said Wallace.

“We believe that consumers get better products and services, and that that they save money, in competitive markets,” panelist and former FERC Commissioner Bill Massey said. “Our nation faces four challenges and competitive markets can help us meet them.  They are the more than trillion dollar investment buildout necessary to meet future demand; what we’re going to do about implementing carbon controls; global competitiveness; and reducing our dependency on foreign energy sources.”