[Federal Register: June 24, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 121)]
[Notices]
[Page 35343-35344]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24jn04-57]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. PL03-3-005; AD03-7-005; ER03-1271-000; CP01-418-000; CP03-
7-001; CP03-301-000; RP03-245-000; RP99-176-089; RP99-176-094; RP02-
363-002; RP03-398-000; RP03-533-000; RP03-70-002; P03-70-003; CP01-421-
000; CP01-421-001; RP03-540-000; and ER04-439-001 (Not consolidated)]
Price Discovery in Natural Gas and Electric Markets; Natural Gas
Price Formation; Aquila, Inc.; B-R Pipeline Company; Colorado
Interstate Gas Company; Colorado Interstate Gas Company, et al.; Kinder
Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC; Natural Gas Pipeline Company of
America; North Baja Pipeline LLC; Northern Natural Gas Company; PG&E
Gas Transmission, Northwest Corporation; Portland General Electric
Company; Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation; and PacifiCorp;
Notice of Agenda for the June 25, 2004 Conference on Market Liquidity,
Energy Price Discovery, and Natural Gas and Electricity Price Indices
June 17, 2004.
As announced in the Notice of Conference issued May 14, 2004, the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) will hold a Staff
technical conference on Friday, June 25, 2004, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
e.s.t. (please note time change from the May 14 Notice), at the
Commission's headquarters, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC, in
the Commission's meeting room (Room 2C). The conference will be
conducted by the Commission's Staff, and members of the Commission may
be present for all or part of the conference. The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC) will participate. All interested parties are
invited to attend. The Commission's summer dress code is business
casual. There is no requirement to register and no cost for attending
the conference.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss the adequacy of natural
gas and electricity price formation, the level of reporting of energy
transactions to price index developers, actions taken by price index
developers to improve the information available to the market, the
overall level of liquidity in wholesale natural gas and electricity
markets, and the use of price indices in jurisdictional tariffs. More
detail on the issues to be considered is contained in the May 14
Notice. Staff is interested in discussion of these issues, including
specific recommendations made by Staff in the Report on Natural Gas and
Electricity Price Indices, issued May 5, 2004, in Docket Nos. PL03-3-
004 and AD03-7-004. We plan to hear from a variety of speakers
representing all segments of the natural gas and electricity
industries.
The conference agenda is appended to this Notice. The agenda
includes four panels, each with a different emphasis on the issues to
be considered. Panelists are encouraged to file prepared written
statements addressing the issues on or before June 25. Such statements
should be filed with the Secretary of the Commission. Speakers will be
encouraged to use their allotted time to summarize their positions and
views on the issues noted for their panel. Time will be reserved for
questions by Staff and, at the end of the conference, for members of
the audience.
As mentioned in the May 14 Notice, the conference will be
transcribed. Those interested in acquiring the transcript should
contact Ace Reporters at 202-347-3700 or 800-336-6646. Transcripts will
be placed in the public record seven days after the Commission receives
them. Also, Capitol Connection will broadcast this conference. Capitol
Connection offers the opportunity for remote listening and viewing of
the conference. It is available for a fee, live over the Internet, by
phone or via satellite. Persons interested in receiving the broadcast,
or who need information on making arrangements, should contact David
Reininger or Julia Morelli at Capitol Connection (703-993-3100) as soon
as possible or visit the Capitol Connection Web site at http://www.capitolconnection.org
and click on ``FERC.''
For additional information, please contact Ted Gerarden of the
Office of Market Oversight & Investigations at 202-502-6187 or by e-
mail at Ted.Gerarden@ferc.gov.
Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
Attachment: Conference Agenda.
Conference Agenda
June 25, 2004
Welcome And Opening Remarks--9-9:30 a.m.
William Hederman, Director Office of Market Oversight &
Investigations
Stephen Harvey, Deputy Director, Market Oversight and Assessment
Michael Gorham, Director, Division of Market Oversight, Commodity
Futures Trading Commission
Panel 1--Reaction to staff report and recommendations for indices
used in pipeline or utility tariffs--9:30-10:30 a.m. Panelists:
Timothy Oaks, Manager Federal Regulatory Affairs &
Contract Administration, UGI Utilities Inc. (American Gas
Association)
Eugene V. Rozgony, Vice President and Chief Risk
Officer, AGL Resources
Donald Santa, President, Interstate Natural Gas
Association of America
Dena Wiggins, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan (Process Gas
Consumers)
James Allison, Regional Risk Manager, ConocoPhilips
Issues:
--Should the Commission adopt Staff's recommendation that any index
used in a tariff provide volume and number of transactions for each
reported price? Should other data be required?
--Are Staff's recommended volumes (25,000 MMBtu/day or 4000 MWh/day)
or transactions (five for daily, eight for weekly, ten for monthly
indices) sufficient to indicate adequate liquidity?
--Should the Commission require all pipelines and utilities to amend
their tariffs by a date certain if indices currently used in tariffs
do not meet adopted criteria?
--What conclusions can be drawn from the responses to the
Commission's surveys on price reporting?
Break--10:30-10:40 a.m.
Panel 2--Price reporting, confidence in indices, and options for
future Commission action--10:40 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Panelists:
Scott Nauman, Manager, Americas Gas Marketing,
ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Company (Natural Gas Supply
Association)
Representative from the Electric Power Supply
Association (invited)
Timothy Oaks, Manager Federal Regulatory Affairs &
Contract Administration, UGI Utilities Inc. (American Gas
Association)
Gerald Ballinger, Chief Executive Officer of the Public
Energy Authority of Kentucky (American Public Gas Association)
Jeff Walker, Senior Vice President and Chief Risk
Officer, ACES Power Marketing (National Rural Electric Cooperative
Association)
[[Page 35344]]
Al Musur, Director, Energy and Utility Programs, Abbott
Laboratories and Chairman of the Industrial Energy Consumers of
America
Alexander Strawn, Proctor & Gamble Company and Chairman
of the Process Gas Consumers
Issues:
--What incentives will encourage companies to begin or increase
price reporting?
--Are process improvements by reporting companies (public code of
conduct, independent source, audit of processes) adequate or are
there further improvements that can increase the accuracy of price
indices?
--Has industry confidence in prices reported in indices increased to
a satisfactory level?
--What steps can be taken to improve transparency of price indices?
--What further information should price indices provide to market
participants?
--Has sufficient progress been made under the Policy Statement?
--Should the Commission adopt further requirements for price
reporters and/or index developers? If so, what requirements are
appropriate?
--Should some form of mandatory reporting be required? If so, what
is the desirable scope of such reporting (Who should be required to
report? Should reporting be to existing index developers, to an
intermediary or depository, or to the Commission? What data should
be required to be reported)?
--Would mandatory reporting materially improve the quality of price
data available to market participants?
Lunch break--12:15-1:15 p.m.
Panel 3--Index developers' response to industry views and Staff
report--1:15-2:45 p.m.
Panelists:
C. Miles Weigel, Senior Vice President, Argus Media,
Inc.
Brad Johnson, Global Energy Business Manager, Bloomberg
Tom Waterman, Publisher, Btu/DTN
Ernest Onukogo, Manager Newswire Indexes, DowJones
Richard Sansom, Markets Editor, Io Energy LLC
Bobette Riner, President, Powerdex
Tom Haywood, Editor, Energy Intelligence Group
Dexter Steis, Executive Publisher, Intelligence Press
Chuck Vice, Chief Operating Officer, Intercontinental
Exchange
Larry Foster, Editorial Director, U.S. Natural Gas,
Platts
Issues:
--What improvements in data collection and price reporting have
index developers seen since issuance of the Policy Statement?
--How have index developers responded to the call for greater
transparency of indices?
--What plans do price index developers have to provide more
information and more transparency to energy market participants?
--Do price index developers meet the standards of the Policy
Statement? Did the Staff report accurately depict the extent to
which index developers have adopted Policy Statement standards?
--Do price index developers support the criteria proposed by Staff
for use of indices in jurisdictional tariffs?
--How can price index developers facilitate tariff compliance by
pipelines and utilities?
--Will price index developers provide FERC with access to data in
the event of an investigation of suspected false reporting or price
manipulation?
Break--2:45-2:55 p.m.
Panel 4--Market liquidity 2:55-4:15 p.m. Panelists:
Martin Marz, Compliance Manager, North American Gas and
Power, BP America, Inc.
Christopher Edmonds, Senior Vice President, ICAP Energy
LLC (Energy Brokers Association)
Representative of financial institution active in
energy markets (invited)
Mark Niehaus, Partner Energy Assurance,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Tom Jepperson, Division Counsel, Questar Market
Resources, Inc.
Vince Kaminski , Managing Director, Sempra Energy
Trading
Issues:
--Is there adequate trading activity at enough locations to develop
reliable price signals for market participants?
--What are the characteristics that make for a good trading hub?
--What steps can the Commission take to encourage the development of
active trading hubs?
--What role can electronic trading, confirmation/settlement, and
clearing play in improving market liquidity?
--Can improvements in price indices restore confidence in price
formation given the present levels of trading?
Audience questions and comments--4:15-4:45 p.m.
Concluding remarks--4:45-5 p.m.
[FR Doc. E4-1399 Filed 6-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P