Law Seminars International Presents

New Direction for California Energy Markets

September 16 & 17, 2004
Crowne Plaza Union Square Hotel in San Francisco, CA
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Who Should Order Homestudy

Attorneys, public and private utility professionals, energy industry executives, power marketers, economists and consultants, tribal and government officials

Why Order

A change in leadership at the state level signifies the continuing evolution of California’s energy market policies. From Sacramento comes a call for at least partial restoration of competitive markets for large energy users and power generators, while at the same time, financially rejuvenated utilities are pushing for a return to traditional roles in building and operating new power plants. Where the balance falls between competition and regulation remains an open question, as debate continues over achieving an optimal mix of new resource types. Energy efficiency and renewable resources are the state’s first priorities for meeting increased energy demand, even with a recognition that natural gas-fired power plants and new or upgraded transmission lines will be essential to maintaining system stability. This conference will address the current state of power markets and regulatory efforts and how that affects the energy and utilities industry throughout the Western U.S. The program will provide attendees with the latest information on California’s ever-changing legal and policy framework for energy markets and transactions.

What You Will Learn

- The New View from Sacramento - Lessons from Energy Crisis Litigation - Legislative Update - Resurrecting Competitive Markets - Community Aggregation and Municipalization - Tribal Energy and California Markets - Resources and Transmissions - Public Power - Energy Strategies for Cities and Counties - LNG Ports -- A Supply Solution or Illusion? - Utility Finances and Industry Outlook - California Energy Innovations

Agenda

Thursday, September 16, 2004
8:00 am Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Perspectives on the Evolution of California’s Energy Policy
  The status of power markets and regulation in the context of long-standing policies to promote a highly diversified resource base.
  Daniel W.L. Fessler, Esq., Program Co-Chair
 Holland & Knight LLP / San Francisco, CA
  Arthur O'Donnell, Program Co-Chair
 Energy Central.com / San Francisco, CA
9:00 am The New View From Sacramento
  Hear from a policy leader who must reach accommodation with influential legislators to determine the future course for the state’s energy policies.
  Joseph Desmond, Deputy Secretary of Energy
 California Resources Agency / Sacramento, CA
10:15 am Break
10:30 am Lessons from Energy Crisis Litigation
  This panel updates the status and outcome of literally hundreds of civil and criminal actions brought against scores of power market participants as a result of the energy crisis
  Gordon P. Erspamer, Esq.
 Morrison & Foerster LLP / Walnut Creek, CA
  This panel updates the status and outcome of literally hundreds of civil and criminal actions brought against scores of power market participants as a result of the energy crisis.
  Kenneth Alex, Esq., Acting Senior Assistant Attorney General
 Office of the Attorney General / Oakland, CA
12:00 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:15 pm Legislative Update
  While consumed with the need to resolve the state’s continuing budget crisis, California’s Legislature continues to address energy matters with mixed success.
  Lenny Goldberg
 The Utility Reform Network (TURN) / Sacramento, CA
  Dorothy Rothrock, Esq., VP Government Relations
 California Manufacturers & Technology Association / Sacramento, CA
1:45 pm Resurrecting Competitive Markets
  Finding a Pulse for the Wholesale Market
  Robert B. Weisenmiller, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Principal
 MRW & Associates / Oakland, CA
  Meeting the Renewables Mandate
  Julie Blunden, Vice President
 Kema-Xenergy Inc. / Oakland, CA
  Creating an open, competitive framework for energy efficiency
  Barbara George, Founder and Executive Director
 Women Energy Matters / San Francisco, CA
3:15 pm Break
3:30 pm Community Aggregation and Spot Municipalization
  Reviews current power market opportunities for local government entities and energy policies established by municipalities that do not currently operate municipal utilities
  Paul Fenn, Executive Director
 Local Power / Oakland, CA
  Howard Golub, Esq.
 Nixon Peabody LLP / San Francisco, CA
  John Dalessi, Principal
 Navigant Consulting, Inc. / Rancho Cordova, CA

Friday, September 17, 2004
8:00 am Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 am Resources and Transmission
  Updating the status of major power plant developments and transmission projects in a race against looming resource deficits.
  Terrence O'Brien, Deputy Director Systems Assesment and Facilities Siting Division
 California Energy Commission / Sacremento, CA
  Market Design Update for MD02 and Transmission lines underway
  David Withrow
 California ISO / Folsom, CA
9:30 am Public Power
  California’s municipal utilities and irrigation districts still find themselves in defensive mode following the power crisis but are charting independent courses of action for the future that emphasize local control
  Junona Jonas, Director of Electric Utility
 Silicon Valley Power / Santa Clara, CA
  James H. Pope, Director Electric Utility
 Northern California Power Agency / Roseville, CA
10:30 am Break
10:45 am Energy Strategies for Cities and Counties
  Susan Munves, Energy and Green Building Administrator
 City of Santa Monica / Santa Monica, CA
  Edward A Smeloff, Asst General Manager
 SF Public Utilities Commission / San Francisco, CA
  John S. Moot, Esq.
 Sullivan Wertz McDade & Wallace / San Diego, CA
12:15 pm Lunch (on your own)
1:30 pm LNG Ports - A Supply Solution or Illusion?
  As traditional sources of natural gas reach production limits or become more expensive, California increasingly looks to world markets for fuel in the form of liquified natural gas
  David Maul, Manager of the Natural Gas and Special Projects Office
 California Energy Commission / Sacremento, CA
  Dianne Robin Phillips, Esq.
 Holland & Knight LLC / Boston, MA
2:30 pm Utility Finances and Industry Outlook
  How financial markets view energy utilities and merchant power producers three years after the collapse of competitive wholesale markets. Identifying new business structures and sources of in-vestment capital for infrastructure needs.
  Swami Venkataraman, CFA, Director Corporate and Government Ratings
 Standard and Poors / San Francisco, CA
  Edwin F. Feo, Esq.
 Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP / Los Angeles, CA
3:30 pm Break
3:45 pm California Energy Innovations
  FlexYour Power - More Than a TV Ad
  Walter McGuire, Esq., President
 McGuire & Co. / San Francisco, CA
  Where Venture Capitalists Tread
  Maurice Gunderson, Co-Founder and Managing Director
 Nth Power Technologies / San Francisco, CA
  Pioneering PV Designs for Parking Lots & Rooftops Ease Commercialization of Large Scale Solar Power
  Bill Kelly, Vice President, Energy Services
 PowerLight / Berkeley, CA
5:00 pm Adjourn

Cancellation

There is a $25 cancellation fee for Course Materials orders and $50 for Homestudy orders

Continuing Education Credits

Law Seminars International automatically obtains CLE credit approval for the state in which a seminar is held. On request, we will apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits. Current credits status: CA MCLE 13.5 | NY CLE 16 (no ethics non-transitional) | OR CLE 14.5 (#2104*212) | TX CLE 13.5 (#000069492) | WA CLE 13.5 (#124171)

Cost

Our complete Homestudy Course, consisting of a VHS or DVD recording and the written course materials, is available for $905. The course materials alone are available for $100. We will ship your homestudy order via UPS ground within two weeks after the seminar or the date we receive payment (which ever is later).
Order Homestudy

Faculty Bios

Daniel W. L. Fessler, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Holland & Knight, LLP where he specializes in Utility and Energy Law. He was the President of the California Public Utilities Commission from 1991 to 1996 and currently advises government and utility clients worldwide on restructuring options, privatization issues, and outward investment opportunities.

Arthur O'Donnell, Program Co-Chair, is the National Editorial Director for Energy Central and author of "Soul of the Grid: A Cultural Biography of the California Independent System Operator." He was the founding editor of the California Energy Markets newsletter and is a frequent contributor to Public Utilities Fortnightly, the San Diego Union Tribune and other publications.

Ken Alex is the Acting Senior Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Energy Task Force and supervising deputy attorney general with the environment section of the California Attorney General’s Office. His responsibilities include environmental enforcement litigation under state and federal environmental laws, as well as running the unit addressing California’s energy crisis.

Julie Blunden, Vice President of KEMA-XENERGY, focuses on consulting related to customer energy choices and renewable energy sources in competitive and evolving energy markets

John Dalessi is a Principal in Navigant Consulting’s Energy Generation and Transmission practice. He possesses a wide array of experience in the areas of electricity market operations, cost of service and rate design, forecasting, demand response, industry restructuring, regulatory and legislative analysis, and strategic planning.

Joseph Desmond is Deputy Secretary of Energy at the California Resources Agency. In that capacity, He is responsible for managing overall energy policy across state agencies, interacting with Federal agencies and neighboring states, and advising the Governor on energy matters.  Prior to his appointment, Mr. Desmond served as president and CEO of Infotility, Inc., an energy consulting and software development firm, since 2000.

Gordon P. Erspamer is a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP and Co-chair of the firm’s Inter-Disciplinary Energy Group, engaging in the litigation of complex civil actions in both state and federal courts. His primary area of concentration is energy litigation representing clients both inside and outside California.

Paul Fenn is the Executive Director of Local Power and has served as the legislative director to the Senate Chairman fo the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Energy. He has authored several pieces of energy related regulation, and is a frequent speaker on energy issues.

Edwin F. Feo is a partner in the Global Project Finance Department at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP. He represents parties in the acquisition, development, and financing of power, infrastructure, and environmental companies.

Barbara George is the founder and Executive Director of Women's Energy Matters (WEM), a network of women and men who approach energy issues from a woman's point of view. WEM is an intervenor in CPUC energy efficiency proceedings, working to increase energy savings by neutralizing utility conflicts of interest. It is credited with preserving funds for non-utility energy efficiency programs for program years 2004-05. WEM also works for environmental justice in Bayview Hunters Point, a low income, people of color community with five power plants in its midst. WEM's training and assistance enabled the community to obtain services from PGE's energy efficiency "partnership" with San Francisco, which originally planned to use all funds downtown.

Lenny Goldberg is a lobbyist for The Utility Reform Network (TURN) on whose behalf he participated extensively in California’s electric restructuring legislation, and for UCAN. He also runs a public interest consulting and lobbying firm, Lenny Goldberg and Associates

Howard V. Golub is a Partner with Nixon Peabody LLP in San Francisco and has thirty years of experience in the energy industry. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He provides services to a wide range of clients in the energy industry nationwide including investor-owned and publicly owned utilities, independent power producers, and developers of technologies for the production of energy.

Maurice Gunderson is a co-founder and managing director of Nth Power. Prior to founding Nth Power, he spent 20 years developing advanced technology products and theorganizations to successfully deliver these products to market. He is a specialist in thermodynamics and energy technologies.

Junona A. Jonas, the Director of Electric Utility for Silicon Valley Power, is responsible for all operations, field services, and customer and community relations at SVP for the City of Santa Clara. In addition to serving the residential customers of Santa Clara, SVP plays and important role in the growth and economic development of high tech companies and industries dependent on high-energy reliability and stable electric rates in the Silicon Valley.

Bill Kelly, the Vice President for Energy Services at Powerlight to focus on energy services at PowerLight to develop and implement projects that combine solar power production with energy efficiency and energy management.

David Maul, Manager of the Natural Gas and Special Projects Office at the California Energy Commission focuses his energy on directing the State of California’s staff and their work to develop independent natural gas forecasts and energy policies dealing with natural gas demand, supply, infrastructure, and markets. His office is investigating various natural gas issues, including the potential for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports to the West Coast, an expanded role for natural gas storage facilities, the need for additional infrastructure investments to better mitigate risks that threaten service reliability and stable pricing, and the need to establish government-to-government relationships with key supply areas.

Walter McGuire is President of McGuire & Co., Inc., a San Francisco based public policy and public affairs firm. Over the past two decades, McGuire & Co. has represented scores of clients on policy matters and campaigns, primarily in the fields of environment and health.

John S. Moot is a partner with Sullivan Wertz McDade & Wallace and serves asthe Vice Chairman on the San Diego Regional Energy Office Board ofDirectors.

Susan Munves is the Energy and Green Building Administrator for the City of Santa Monica. She currently manages the development and implementation of the City’s energy and green building programs and policies, and formerly managed the City’s water efficiency programs.

Terrence O’Brien is a Deputy Director at the California Energy Commission. He manages the Systems Assessment and Facilities Siting Division which is responsible for power plant licensing, transmission system planning and assessments, and natural gas and electricity forecasting and assessments.

Dianne R. Phillips, a partner with Holland & Knight LLP concentrates her practice in litigation, regulatory, energy, and environmental law. As former Assistant General Counsel for Tractebel LNG North America LLC, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC, she was involved in all aspects of regulatory compliance for the nation's oldest, continuously operating LNG import terminal located in Everett, Massachusetts. 

James H. Pope is the Director of Electric Utility for the City of Santa Clara. He has over thirty years of experience in the electric and gas industry. He is a seasoned executive with a background in general management, operations, engineering and construction for an investor owned utility.

Dorothy Rothrock is Vice President of Government Relations for CMTA. She oversees the lobbying efforts of CMTA in environmental, energy, corporate counsel, tax, workers’ compensation, human resources, and safety and health.

Edward A. Smeloff is Assistant General Manager Power Policy of the City of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He previously served as Executive Director of the Pace Energy Project at the Pace University Law School. From January 1987 through June 1997, Mr. Smeloff served on the elected Board of Directors of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the fifth largest publicly owned utility in the United States. He is a co-author of Reinventing Electric Utilities: Competition, Citizen Action and Clean Power published by Island Press.

Swami Venkataraman is a Director in Corporate and Government Ratings and is a member of the Utilities, Energy, and Project Finance Ratings Group at Standard and Poors. The group is responsible for the entire range of credits in the Energy sector.

Robert Weisenmiller, Ph.D. is Principal and Co-founder of MRW & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in economic and technical analysis of electric power and fuel markets. For more than 20 years, he has provided clients with critical analyses of the development of competitive markets for power generation and natural gas.

Steve Greenleaf, Director of Regulatory Policy at the California Independent System Operator Corporation (CAISO), plays a key role in the development of CAISO positions and recommendations on regulatory policies that impact the CAISO. He has worked extensively on the CAISO’s market design efforts, as well as efforts to develop effective transmission planning and expansion and generator interconnection programs for California.