[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 202 (Thursday, October 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 52912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26254]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. EL01-68-000]


Investigation of Wholesale Rates of Public Utility Sellers of 
Energy and Ancillary Services in the Western Systems Coordinating 
Council; Notice of Technical Conference Concerning West-Wide Price 
Mitigation for the Winter Season and Procedures for Seeking 
Participation

October 12, 2001.
    Take notice that the Commission is convening a technical conference 
to be held on Monday, October 29, 2001, at the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The 
Technical Conference will commence at 1 p.m. and will be open to all 
interested persons. On June 19, 2001, the Commission prescribed price 
mitigation for California spot markets and markets throughout the 
West.\1\ In that order, the Commission also invited interested parties 
to file with the Commission comments and proposals for the purpose of 
revisiting the mitigation methodology for future periods, if necessary. 
This technical conference will address possible modifications to the 
current West-wide price mitigation methodology for the winter season.
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    \1\ See San Diego Gas & Electric Company v. Sellers of Energy 
and Ancillary Service Into Markets Operated by the California 
Independent System Operator Corporation and the California Power 
Exchange, 95 FERC para. 61,418 at 62,570 (2001).
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    As a starting point for discussions at the conference, and based on 
the comments that were filed, possible modifications to the current 
price mitigation methodology include the following: (1) Eliminate the 
10 percent adder for sales into California; and (2) require the 
California Independent System Operator to not only recalculate the 
price for spot market transactions when there is a Stage 1 reserve 
deficiency, but also recalculate the price when the average of the 
three gas indices increase by 10 percent above the level last used for 
calculating the mitigated price (i.e., 66 cents based on the current 
average of $6.64/MMBtu).
    Persons wishing to speak at the conference must submit a request to 
make a statement in the above-captioned dockets. The request should be 
submitted by e-mail to David Boergers at [email protected] 
(include Docket No. EL01-68-000 in the subject heading of the e-mail), 
and should be followed up, at the same time, with a letter to the 
Secretary of the Commission. The request should clearly specify the 
name of the person desiring to speak, his or her title and affiliation, 
and the party or parties the speaker represents. There will be limited 
opportunity to participate via teleconferencing. Persons wanting to 
participate in this manner should specify their interest in their 
request to speak. In addition, the request should include a telephone 
number for notifying the speaker. The request should also include a 
brief summary of the issue or issues the speaker wishes to address, not 
to exceed one page. All e-mail requests must be submitted on or before 
Wednesday, October 17, 2001.
    The number of persons desiring to speak at the conference may 
exceed the time available. Thus, interested persons are encouraged to 
join with other persons with similar interests. Based on the requests 
to participate, panels of speakers will be specified. The Secretary 
will issue a notice listing the speakers and panels for the conference.
    In addition, all interested persons are invited to submit written 
comments on matters addressed at the conference. These comments should 
be submitted on or before November 9, 2001, in the above-captioned 
proceedings. All comments will be placed in the Commission's public 
files and will be available for inspection in the Commission's Public 
Reference Room at 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, during 
regular business hours. Additionally, all comments may be viewed, 
printed, or downloaded remotely via the Internet through FERC's 
Homepage using the RIMS link. User assistance for RIMS is available at 
202-208-2222, or by e-mail to [email protected].
    Comments related to this proceeding may be filed either in paper 
format or electronically. Those filing electronically do not need to 
make a paper filing.
    For paper filings, the original and 14 copies of the comments 
should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426 and 
should refer to Docket No. EL01-68-000.
    Comments filed electronically via the Internet must be prepared in 
WordPerfect, MS Word, Portable Document Format, or ASCII format. To 
file the comments, access the Commission's website at www.ferc.gov and 
click on ``Make An E-Filing,'' and then follow the instructions for 
each screen. First time users will have to establish a user name and 
password. The Commission will send an automatic acknowledgment to the 
sender's e-mail address upon receipt of comments. User assistance for 
electronic filing is available at 202-208-0258 or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. Comments should not be submitted to the e-mail 
address.
    The conference will be transcribed. Those interested in obtaining 
transcripts need to contact ACE Federal Reporters, at 202-347-3700.
    The Capitol Connection will broadcast the conference via the 
Internet and by phone. To find out more about The Capitol Connection's 
live Internet and phone bridge, contact David Reininger or Julia 
Morelli at 703-993-3100 or go to www.capitolconnection.gmu.edu.
    Live and archived audio of the conference will also be available 
for a fee via National Narrowcast Network. Live audio is available by 
telephone at 202-966-2211 and by subscription on the Web at 
www.hearing.com. The Web audio will be archived and available for 
listening after the event is completed. Billing is based on listening 
time.
    Anyone interested in purchasing videotapes of the conference should 
call VISCOM at 703-715-7999.
    Questions about the conference program should be directed to: 
Camilla Ng, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426, 202-208-0706, [email protected].

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-26254 Filed 10-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P