Welcome from the 2012 National Electricity Forum Co-Chairs

• David Meyer, Senior Advisor, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy
• Honorable Cheryl Roberto, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
• Honorable Greg White, Commissioner, Michigan Public Service Commission

Keynote Discussion: Visualizing the 21st Century Electricity Industry

• Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
• Honorable Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy
• Honorable David Wright, President, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and Vice Chair, South Carolina Public Service Commission

Keynote Panel with Futurists: What will Humankind Need in 2035?

As we contemplate the 21st Century electricity industry in 2035, several significant factors will emerge: 1) technology; 2) demographics; 3) markets; 4) federal and state policies; and 5) climate. Outcomes in these five areas will have lasting impacts for the future of the industry, including in the areas of: research and development (R&D) investments, ‘game-changing’ innovations, business models, and regulatory oversight. By the mid-point of the 21st Century, demographers project that Americans will be living in increasingly urban communities that will reach densities never before seen. At the same time, lifestyles and the economy will become increasingly dependent upon technology and electricity, including the electrification of transportation. The keynote panel will discuss broad future projections of what the United States and its global competitors will look like and what technology innovations are likely and what requirements for them are likely.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Thomas Frey, Executive Director, The DaVinci Institute
• Marina Gorbis, Executive Director, Institute for the Future
• John Petersen, President and Founder, The Arlington Institute

Moderator

• Matthew Wald, Senior Washington Bureau Correspondent, The New York Times

Networking Break

Visioning the 21st Century Electricity Industry: Outcomes and Strategies for America

Changes to the electricity industry require an intricate balance of technologies, markets, and policies and will also require collaboration between the public and private sectors. As the 21st Century electricity industry continues to evolve, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is championing an effort to begin a national dialogue on the requirements needed to achieve a new paradigm for the electricity industry. Several offices and programs within the DOE have been working together over the last year to develop a straw man vision of the 21st Century electricity industry that contemplates major changes to electric power service, including technology and institutional changes. The DOE straw man vision is meant as a vehicle to engage all stakeholders in a national discussion that will provide guidance to policy makers, technologists and market participants as they plan for the changes needed to provide continued reliable, affordable electric power to the nation’s consumers. To begin discussion, this panel will first hear from Lauren Azar, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy, who will present DOE’s straw man vision. Industry representatives and regulators will then respond to the straw man vision and the panel will discuss whether the vision achieves agreed upon desired results.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Lauren Azar, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy
• Mark Brownstein, Chief Counsel, Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund
• Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated
• Honorable Erin O’Connell-Diaz, Commissioner, Illinois Commerce Commission and Chair, NARUC Electricity Committee

Moderator

• Susan Tierney, Managing Principal, Analysis Group

Networking Break

Visualizing the 21st Century Electricity Industry from the Business Perspective

Transforming the electricity industry will require major investments. However, with a sluggish economy, investment dollars are limited. Some have argued that the main forces of change in the electricity industry will be: unprecedented consolidation (mergers); shift in supply-demand balance; imminent tipping point of smart grid implementation; decentralization of generation and other resources; and increasing downward pressure on returns on capital. This panel of business leaders will examine what the 21st Century electricity industry needs to achieve, what challenges must be overcome to fund the transformation to the 21st Century electricity industry, how electricity services will be provided—and by whom—as well as what the role of industry will be to make transformational changes to the electricity industry that benefit consumers. The panelists will also respond to what they have heard from the futurists and from DOE’s straw man vision of the 21st Century electricity industry.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Doyle Beneby, President and Chief Executive Officer, CPS Energy
• David Crane, President and Chief Executive Officer, NRG Energy, Inc.
• Theodore Craver, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Edison International and Chairman, Electric Power Research Institute
• Thomas Farrell, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Dominion and Chairman, Edison Electric Institute
• LeRoy Nosbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer, Itron

Moderator

• Susan Tomasky, Independent Director, Tesoro Corporation Board of Directors and Retired President of Transmission, American Electric Power

Beyond Technology: Strengthening Energy Policy Through Social Science

• Kelly Sims Gallagher, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Alternative Energy Future Study Committee and Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Technology Frontiers: "Transformational" Technologies to Securely Meet the 21st Century Electricity Industry Vision

Successful development and implementation of transformational technologies will require a great deal of collaboration and cooperation among vendors, owners, operators, and regulators of the 21st Century grid, and those who approve R&D funding necessary to support these investments. In addition, the growing integration of intelligence and communications into the electricity delivery infrastructure will enhance its resilience and interactive capabilities for facilitating markets and serving consumers, but will also produce new concerns and challenges. The advanced technologies being contemplated, developed, and deployed could significantly change the nature of the 21st Century electricity industry from both a physical and cyber security perspective. Infrastructure systems, structures, and components are beginning to be designed to be more inherently resilient to physical and cyber threats by reducing their “attack surfaces.” The panel discussion will focus on what new technologies and new applications are needed to meet the challenges of the transformed electricity industry by 2035. The discussion will also include what R&D is necessary to expand technology frontiers and who should be responsible for such R&D. This session will also address questions technology developers, grid owners, and regulators will face in their efforts to realize a future electricity industry that is affordable, adequate, reliable, and secure.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Terry Boston, President and Chief Executive Officer, PJM Interconnection
• Dario Gil, Program Director, Smarter Energy, IBM Research
• Arshad Mansoor, Senior Vice President, Research and Development, Electric Power Research Institute
• Honorable Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations & Environment, U.S. Department of the Navy

Moderator

• Honorable Arun Majumdar, Acting Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy and Director, Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy

Networking Break

Customers' Vision of the 21st Century Electricity Industry

What would the 21st Century electricity industry look like if customers designed it? The National Electricity Forum will hear from futurists, business leaders, and technology innovators about their vision for the future. But what do customers think? What do they see as their needs and expectations from a modernized electricity system? Do they coincide with the perspectives of industry and government officials? Does it matter? How will customers be affected? This panel of consumer advocates, industrial customers, and high-tech electricity users will discuss the customer role in the future, and whether and how technological and other changes will provide benefits and meet their needs.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Paula Carmody, People’s Counsel, Maryland Office of People’s Counsel and President, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates
• Duane Desiderio, Vice President and Counsel, The Real Estate Roundtable
• Steve Swinson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Thermal Energy Corporation
• Lorie Wigle, General Manager, Eco-Technology Program Office, Intel Corporation

Moderator

• Jay Hancock, Business Columnist, The Baltimore Sun

Networking Break

The Regulatory Relationships Required for the 21st Century Electricity Industry

Current regulatory models, both state and federal, are based on the 20th Century electricity industry. The industry is increasingly operated and planned along regional lines; yet, its regulation continues to be divided between the State Public Utility Commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And increasingly, regulation by other agencies is impacting the traditional economic regulatory work of FERC and the state commissions. FERC’s jurisdiction is limited to wholesale power sales, ancillary services, and transmission rates and services; it has no authority to oversee resource planning. By contrast, state regulation oversees generation and demand-side resources, as well as retail rates. However, the states’ jurisdiction has historically been limited to utility activities within their boundaries. Although there is ongoing collaboration and cooperation among the states, regional entities, and the federal government, there are regulatory gaps, as well as ongoing jurisdictional uncertainty and conflict. Are these relationships well-suited to facilitate the types of systemic changes that will be needed to realize the long-term vision for the 21st Century electricity industry that we have been discussing in today's earlier sessions? Regulators will have an indispensable role to play in helping to realize this vision. How will they work together? Regulatory models need to be flexible and dynamic to respond to emerging issues; yet, there is a need for regulatory certainty and consistency to facilitate the transformation to the 21st Century electricity industry. This session will explore how existing regulatory relationships might be changed or enhanced to better achieve the transformed 21st Century electricity industry.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Michael Dworkin, Director of the Institute for Energy and the Environment and Professor of Law, Vermont Law School
• Honorable Gail Gutsche, Vice Chair, Montana Public Service Commission
• Honorable Douglas R. M. Nazarian, Chairman, Maryland Public Service Commission and President, Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council
• Honorable Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Moderator

• Scott Hempling, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University and Immediate Past Executive Director, National Regulatory Research Institute

Wrap Up of Day One of the 2012 National Electricity Forum

Wine and Cheese Reception

Networking Continental Breakfast

Welcome to Day Two of the 2012 National Electricity Forum

Special Address: The Need for Bipartisanship

• Honorable Byron Dorgan, Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center and Former U.S. Senator (D-ND)
• Honorable Don Nickles, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Nickles Group, LLC and Former U.S. Senator (R-OK)

Networking Break

Meeting Generation Needs in the 21st Century Electricity Industry

Key generation decisions that will impact the 21st Century electricity industry must be made today. As the electricity industry visualizes the transformation, difficult choices regarding generation resources must be made without all the pieces in place. The panel will discuss the role of natural gas, coal, variable energy resources/renewables, hydro, and nuclear energy to meet the vision of the 21st Century resource portfolio, and will examine how emissions regulations will play a role in the determination of future generation options. Discussion will include traditional and non-traditional generation options.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Carrie Cullen Hitt, Vice President of State Affairs, Solar Energy Industries Association
• William Fehrman, President and Chief Executive Officer, MidAmerican Energy Company
• Benjamin Hobbs, Chair, CAISO Market Surveillance Committee and Professor, Geography and Environmental Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University
• Mayo Shattuck, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Constellation Energy

Moderator

• Honorable Timothy Alan Simon, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission and Chair, NARUC Committee on Natural Gas

Game Changers: How Deployment of Plug-in Electric Vehicles and Grid-Scale Electricity Storage Technologies will Impact the 21st Century Electricity Industry

"It is quite possible that the man who has taught us to put up electricity in bottles has accomplished greater things than any inventor who has yet appeared," wrote The New York Times in 1881. Today, advances in battery technology present us with the opportunity to harness electricity as a transportation fuel, to capture more efficiently the power of the wind and sun, and to envision a more resilient, autonomous electric system. This panel will discuss how the integration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and energy storage technologies will shape the 21st Century electricity industry, the 21st Century electric utility, and the 21st Century electricity consumer.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Britta Gross, Director, Global Energy Systems and Infrastructure Commercialization, General Motors
• Willett Kempton, Research Director, Center for Carbon-Free Power Integration and Professor, University of Delaware
• David Mohre, Executive Director, Energy and Power Division, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
• Tom Stepien, Chief Executive Officer, Primus Power

Moderator

• Honorable Mark Ferron, Commissioner, California Public Utilities Commission

Networking Break

Transmission Planning Tools and Procedures Needed for the 21st Century Electricity Industry

Interregional and interconnection-wide analysis can lead to a more global view of the new transmission that will be needed, as well as the generation, demand response, and other system resources that will likely be part of any 21st Century electricity system. This panel will discuss the various activities that have been undertaken and that are expected in the near future to enhance transmission planning. These efforts include: (1) the DOE-funded interconnection-wide planning processes in the Eastern and Western Interconnections and in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT); (2) FERC’s Order No. 1000 requiring enhanced regional and interregional transmission planning coordination; (3) DOE’s program to remedy persistent transmission congestion through the identification of National Interest Electricity Transmission Corridors; and (4) the coordinated federal effort to identify public lands that are amenable to the future development of energy resources. Finally, the panel will discuss the key role of the states in the planning process at the state, regional, and interconnection-wide level.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• William Ball, Executive Vice President and Chief Transmission Officer, Southern Company
• Honorable Philip Moeller, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Honorable John Savage, Commissioner, Oregon Public Utility Commission and Chair, State-Provincial Steering Committee, Western Governors’ Association
• Ed Tatum, Vice President of RTO and Regulatory Affairs, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative

Moderator

• David Meyer, Senior Advisor, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy

Getting Serious About Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, Distributed Generation, and Micro-Grids for the 21st Century Electricity System

Energy efficiency and demand response have the potential to offset or delay the need for new generation and transmission infrastructure as the electricity industry evolves. Studies cite a vast reservoir of available energy efficiency that may be tapped to serve our 21st Century economy. As well, studies indicate that there are powerful consumer benefits from even modest amounts of demand response. Energy efficiency and demand response can reduce consumer costs, enhance reliability, stabilize prices, lower costs of environmental compliance, create jobs, and help address climate change concerns. Distributed generation and micro-grids also are expected to play larger roles in the 21st Century electricity industry. The smart grid promises to be a means to integrate all of these demand-side resources and leverage their benefits. The session will discuss the potential for extensive deployment of energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, and micro-grids. Additionally, panelists will address the new programs, business models, and regulatory approaches that may be required to position these resources as increasingly important components of the power grid of the future.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Honorable Jeanne Fox, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and Chair, NARUC Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment
• Kimberly Harris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Puget Sound Energy
• Brett Perlman, President, Vector Advisors
• Gordon van Welie, President and Chief Executive Officer, ISO New England Inc.

Moderator

• Charles Goldman, Staff Scientist and Department Head, Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The 21st Century Electricity Industry: Will it be a Picnic or Not? (Boxed Lunch Provided)

A panel of regulators will discuss what their states and regions are doing to consider the impacts of transformational efforts to achieve the 21st Century electricity industry.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Honorable Cheryl LaFleur, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Honorable Phyllis Reha, Commissioner, Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and Co-Chair, NARUC–FERC Smart Response Collaborative
• Honorable James Volz, Chairman, Vermont Public Service Board
• Honorable Rebecca Wagner, Commissioner, Nevada Public Utilities Commission
• Honorable Stan Wise, Chairman, Georgia Public Service Commission

Moderator

• Honorable David Wright, President, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and Vice Chair, South Carolina Public Service Commission

Networking Break

Institutional Solutions: Achieving the Transformed 21st Century Electricity Industry

As society adopts and adapts to new technologies, regulatory institutions will have to assess how to achieve the efficient, cost-effective, and reliable electricity system customers deserve. Regulators will be confronted with new business models, promising new technologies, new consumer demands, and environmental challenges. They will grapple with how the 21st Century electricity industry will be funded and how its costs should be allocated. They must be prepared to consider new or different institutional arrangements that will benefit consumers. This panel will synthesize the conference theme of visualizing the 21st Century electricity industry by tying together the discussions of previous panels, exploring how assumptions about the regulatory framework must change to help achieve the desired transformation, and recommending changes to that regulatory framework and appropriate mechanisms to implement that transformation.

The panel may consider these questions

Panelists

• Sanford Berg, Distinguished Service Professor, Economics and Director of Water Studies, Public Utility Research Center, University of Florida
• Jennifer DeCesaro, Special Advisor for Renewable Energy and Transmission, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy
• Honorable Elizabeth Fleming, Commissioner, Public Service Commission of South Carolina
• Honorable Philip Jones, Commissioner, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and NARUC First Vice President

Moderator

• Honorable John Norris, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Visualizing the 21st Century Electricity Industry from the Audience’s Perspective: Interactive Session with 2012 National Electricity Forum Attendees

The audience will provide its feedback on a series of questions that relate to the issues discussed during the 2012 National Electricity Forum so that DOE and NARUC can benefit from the attendees’ input to develop a consensus-based vision for the 21st Century electricity industry.

Closing Remarks by the 2012 National Electricity Forum Leadership

• David Meyer, Senior Advisor, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy
• Honorable Cheryl Roberto, Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
• Honorable Greg White, Commissioner, Michigan Public Service Commission

Adjourn the 2012 National Electricity Forum