Public Power - January/February 2008 - (Page 10) PERSPECTIVE An Ambitious Agenda in 2008 By Mark Crisson • President & CEO • American Public Power Association le I have had the pleasure of meeting many of our members during my 29-year career in public power, there are many I have not yet met. During my nine years on the APPA board of directors and particularly during my year as chairman I saw firsthand the excellent work done on behalf of the membership by the association staff, and it is a privilege to work with them in my new capacity. In my most recent position, I served as the CEO of Tacoma Pubic Utilities, where I developed a strong belief in the value of publicly owned utilities, whose services are so critical to both the economy and the public health and safety of the communities they serve. I hope my operational and management experience will serve as a strong complement to the existing staff expertise and further enhance our ability to meet the needs of our members. As I review the work of the association, I realize it is a moving train that has continued apace during the recent transition of leadership. In early December, the Executive Committee approved the APPA 2008 Work Plan, which identifies key issue areas requiring special emphasis. Activities related to the Work Plan in most cases are in addition to the ongoing diverse array of services that APPA provides its members year in and year out. Priority issues for 2008 include restructured markets, climate change, energy efficiency, and reliability. APPA will continue its focus on the problems in restructured power markets through its Electric Market Reform Initiative (EMRI). The studies completed last year in phase I of EMRI raised the profile of this issue among federal and state policymakers. The studies show that wholesale prices in restructured markets are not just and rea10 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008 Whi sonable, as required by the Federal Power Act. Unfortunately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appears to be unwilling to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the systemic problems in regional transmission organization markets. So this year our focus in EMRI will be to create a grass roots advocacy effort and a broader coalition of interests in support of necessary market reforms. APPA members, both inside and outside of the RTO/ISO areas, have signaled their concern about this issue by stepping up to fund EMRI. Public concern about climate change continues to grow, as does political pressure for increased federal regulation of greenhouse gases. We expect this will remain a primary focus of congressional activity in 2008, with more white papers, hearings, and proposed legislation. We will follow it closely. While it is unlikely any comprehensive legislation will be passed in 2008, it is important to follow this activity to help shape eventual federal legislation. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruling in 2007, which held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has authority to regulate carbon dioxide, means greenhouse gas regulation could occur without congressional action. Our industry would be fundamentally changed by virtually all of the bills currently under consideration, and the costs to our customers would be significant. The APPA CEO Climate Change Task Force has forged a set of principles to guide our efforts in addressing this issue, and the task force continues to meet to achieve greater consensus on the difficult choices confronting all of us in this process. Potential climate change legislation is not the only thing putting upward pressure on power costs. Higher construction costs, renewable mandates, restructured markets, and rising fuel costs will make power more expensive in the future. In this environment energy efficiency is a key strategy that not only takes pressure off your power supply costs, it also helps your customers lower their bills and benefits the environment. APPA published Easy Steps to Energy Efficiency and sent it to all our members last fall. This book highlights the many programs our members are providing and can help your utility do more in this area. In 2008 we will expand our activities in this area, updating and improving many of the resources we already provide, chiefly through projects funded by DEED (Demonstration of Energy Efficient Developments), our research and development program. APPA also will partner with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a manual on energy efficiency for large customers. In 2007 the North American Electric Reliability Corp. issued 83 mandatory reliability standards pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Initially these standards applied to many smaller utilities whose operations do not materially affect grid reliability. APPA was instrumental in persuading FERC and NERC to adjust the threshold for applicability of the standards, significantly reducing the number of public power utilities subject to them. Nevertheless, 300 public power utilities must comply with the standards. APPA will closely monitor the implementation of these standards during 2008 and assist our members in the compliance process. Public power excels at reliable service, and APPA’s RP3 (Reliable Public Power Provider) program promotes reliability at the local level. The RP3 task force conducts a peer review process by benchmarking public power utilities to best practices. In the last two years, 112 utilities have received the RP3 designation. The program not only aids our members in improving reliability, it has also helped many of them reduce their rates for workers’ compensation. I encourage you to take advantage of the resources available on the APPA Web site at www.APPAnet.org or call or visit us. I look forward to working with all of you in the coming year. ❚ PUBLIC POWER http://www.APPAnet.org
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