[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 217 (Friday, November 9, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63576-63577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22028]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. AD07-13-000]


Conference on Enforcement Policy; Third Notice of Conference

November 2, 2007.
    As announced in the ``First Notice of Conference on Enforcement,'' 
issued on July 11, 2007, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) will hold a conference on November 16, 2007, to examine 
the implementation of its enforcement authority as expanded by the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005).\1\ The conference will be held 
in the Commission Meeting Room at the Commission's headquarters located 
at 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Hearing Room 1 will be 
available for over flow.
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    \1\ Pub. L. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594 (2005).
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    As stated in the previous notices, the purpose of the conference is 
to assess the enforcement program implemented by the Commission during 
the first two years after passage of EPAct 2005 primarily as it 
pertains to the additional subject matter authority and the expanded 
civil penalty authority in Part II of the Federal Power Act \2\ and the 
Natural Gas Act.\3\ Standards of conduct, market monitoring, 
transparency, and market manipulation will not be discussed as they are 
involved in or implicated by pending Commission proceedings. The 
Commission will accept comments filed within 30 days after the 
conference.
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    \2\ 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq. (2000).
    \3\ 15 U.S.C. 717 et seq. (2000).
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    As indicated in the Second Notice of Conference, issued on October 
4, 2007 (Second Notice), this further notice sets forth the final 
conference format and schedule. The agenda has changed slightly from 
the concept described in the Second Notice.\4\ To begin the conference, 
we have added a presentation by the staff from the Office of 
Enforcement. This presentation will present an overview of the 
Commission's actions and related enforcement activities during the 
first two years of EPAct Enforcement.
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    \4\ See Attached agenda.
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    Following the staff panel, the second panel, consisting of former 
members of the Commission, will focus on an overview of enforcement 
from a broad policy perspective as well as from their perspectives of 
advising clients on how to comply with the Commission's rules and 
regulations. The discussion will examine how the Commission can best 
achieve compliance with regulatory requirements, and how it evaluates 
enforcement cases, including self-reported violations and matters that 
result in no penalty, and how companies subject to investigation can 
best respond to the Commission.
    The third panel will address similar topics, but from the more 
specific perspective of energy practitioners. Since the key goal of 
enforcement is to encourage compliance, the panel will discuss the 
challenges of working with clients to comply with the Commission's 
regulations. In that regard, the panel will include a presentation from 
a representative of a company that, pursuant to a stipulation and 
agreement with Commission staff, developed and implemented a ``best in 
class'' model for regulatory compliance.\5\ In addition, the Commission 
would like to hear how practitioners counsel clients on how to respond 
to the Commission's enforcement staff during an investigation, 
including the factors weighed in the decision to self report.
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    \5\ Coral Energy Resources, L.P., 110 FERC ] 61,205, at P14 
(2005).
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    The fourth panel will focus on reliability issues and includes 
representatives from the Electric Reliability Organization (the North 
American Electric Reliability Corporation), regional entities, and a 
utility. This discussion will look at how

[[Page 63577]]

the Regional Entities and the Electric Reliability Organization are 
processing self-reported violations and other compliance matters, as 
well as provide a utility perspective regarding compliance with the new 
mandatory reliability standards. The panel will address emerging 
practical issues of enforcement as well as the Commission's own 
authority to enforce mandatory reliability standards and its interest 
in the most effective way to achieve compliance with the standards.
    As previously noted, all interested persons are invited to attend 
the conference, and there is no registration fee to attend. The 
conference will not be transcribed but will be web cast. A free web 
cast of this event will be available through http://www.ferc.gov. 
Anyone with Internet access who desires to view this event can do so by 
navigating to http://www.ferc.gov's Calendar of Events and locating 
this event in the Calendar. The event will contain a link to its web 
cast. The Capitol Connection provides technical support for the web 
casts and offers access to the meeting via phone bridge for a fee. If 
you have any questions, you may visit http://www.CapitolConnection.org 
or contact Danelle Perkowski or David Reininger at 703-993-3100.
    FERC conferences and meetings are accessible under section 508 of 
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please 
send an e-mail to [email protected] or call toll free (866) 208-
3372 (voice) or 202-502-8659 (TTY), or send a fax to 202-208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Agenda

9-9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks by Members of the Commission.
9:15-9:45 Panel I: The First Two Years of EPAct Enforcement.

    Susan J. Court, Director, Office of Enforcement. Anna V. Cochrane, 
Deputy Director, Office of Enforcement. Robert Pease, Director, 
Division of Investigations. Lee Ann Watson, Deputy Director, Division 
of Investigations. Stephen J. Harvey, Director, Division of Energy 
Market Oversight. Bryan K. Craig, Director, Division of Audits.

9:45-11 a.m. Panel II: Enforcement Policy--Broad Policy Perspective.

    William L. Massey, Covington and Burling LLP. Clifford (Mike) M. 
Naeve, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Donald F. Santa, 
President, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America.

11-11:10 Break.
11:10-12:45 Panel III: Enforcement Policy--the Practitioners' View.

    Mark Hanafin, CEO, Shell Energy North America. Barbara K. 
Heffernan, Schiff Hardin LLP. Paul Korman, Van Ness Feldman. Richard 
Meyer, Senior Regulatory Counsel, National Rural Electric Cooperative 
Association. Mark Perlis, Dickstein Shapiro LLP. Andrea Wolfman, Thelen 
Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP.

12:45-1:45 Lunch Break.
1:45-3:15 Panel IV: Enforcement of Reliability Standards.

    David W. Hilt, Vice President and Director of Compliance, North 
American Electric Reliability Corporation. Louise McCarren, CEO, 
Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Raymond J. Palmieri, Vice 
President & Director--Compliance, ReliabilityFirst Corporation. Robert 
S. (Scott) Henry, Vice President, Electric System Operations, Duke 
Energy.

3:15-3:30 Closing Remarks by Members of the Commission.

[FR Doc. E7-22028 Filed 11-8-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P