[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67725-67726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-28398]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PL10-4-000]


Technical Conference on Penalty Guidelines; Second Notice of 
Technical Conference on Penalty Guidelines

    On September 21, 2011, the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission) issued a Notice of Technical Conference on 
Penalty Guidelines to be held on November 17, 2011. The conference will 
be held from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time in the 
Commission Meeting Room at the Commission's headquarters located at 888 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    The purpose of the conference is to discuss the impact of the 
Penalty Guidelines, which the Commission issued on September 17, 
2010,\1\ on compliance and enforcement matters. The schedule and topics 
for the conference are as follows: \2\
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    \1\ Enforcement of Statutes, Orders, Rules, and Regulations, 132 
FERC ] 61,216 (2010).
    \2\ A list of panelists is included in the attached agenda.

1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.--Opening Remarks by Commission Members
1:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.--First Panel--Compliance Efforts Since Issuance of 
Penalty Guidelines
2:45 p.m.-3 p.m.--Break
3 p.m.-4:15 p.m.--Second Panel--Various Issues Affecting Penalty 
Calculations
4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m.--Closing Remarks by Commission Members

    The first panel will focus on organizations' compliance efforts 
since issuance of the Penalty Guidelines. Section 1B2.1 of the Penalty 
Guidelines provides guidance to industry on compliance, describing 
seven elements organizations should follow to establish effective 
compliance programs. This panel will explore whether and how this 
guidance has helped organizations prioritize their compliance efforts. 
It will also discuss steps organizations have taken to modify their 
compliance programs in light of the Penalty Guidelines. Finally, this 
panel will provide an opportunity for industry to raise comments and 
questions for staff and the Commission on specific aspects of the 
compliance-related sections in the Penalty Guidelines.
    The second panel will focus on certain issues affecting penalty 
calculations under the Penalty Guidelines. In particular, it will 
address three issues that have received significant attention since the 
Penalty Guidelines were issued. First, this panel will examine the 
function and usefulness of Penalty Guidelines section 2B1.1(b)(2), 
which accounts for the scope of violations by considering the volume of 
energy involved in a violation as well as the violation's duration. As 
part of this examination, the panel will consider whether volume and 
duration are already sufficiently accounted for in the ``loss'' 
calculation contained in section 2B1.1(b)(1). Second, this panel will 
discuss whether the Penalty Guidelines should account for situations in 
which the entity that committed a violation passed any of the gain it 
received from the violation to its ratepayers. Third, this panel will 
address the treatment of multiple violations under section 1A1.1, which 
states: ``Where an organization has engaged in multiple acts of fraud, 
anti-competitive conduct, or other rule, tariff, and order violations * 
* * or made multiple misrepresentations or false statements * * * each 
act will be treated as a separate violation. But in calculating the 
harm for purposes of determining the penalty, it is the cumulative harm 
of the multiple violations that is taken into account.'' Specifically, 
this panel will explore whether penalties should be calculated based on 
each separate act or based on the conduct as a whole--or whether it 
should depend on the type of violation or the particular facts and 
circumstances of the investigation.
    The Commission will accept comments related to the Penalty 
Guidelines and their application for thirty days after the conference.
    A revised notice will be issued before the conference if there are 
changes to the conference format, schedule, or panelists. All 
interested persons are invited to attend the conference, and there is 
no registration and no fee to attend. The conference will not be 
transcribed but will be webcast. A free webcast 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 webcast. The Capitol 
Connection provides technical support for the webcasts and offers 
access to the meeting via phone bridge for a fee. If you have any 
questions, you may visit http://www.CapitolConnection.org.
    FERC conferences and meetings are accessible under section 508 of 
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations please 
send an email 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.
    Questions about the technical conference may be directed to Jeremy 
Medovoy by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (202) 
502-6768, or to David Applebaum by email at [email protected] or 
by telephone at (202) 502-8186.

    Dated: October 27, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.

Agenda

1 p.m.-1:30 p.m.--Opening Remarks by Commission Members
1:30 p.m.-2:45 p.m.--First Panel--Compliance Efforts Since Issuance of 
Penalty Guidelines
Andrew K. Soto--Senior Managing Counsel, American Gas Association
Nancy Bagot--Vice President of Regulatory Policy, Electric Power Supply 
Association
Shari Gribbin--Assistant General Counsel and Manager, FERC Compliance, 
Exelon Corporation; Member, Edison Electric Institute
Susan N. Kelly--Vice President of Policy Analysis and General Counsel, 
American Public Power Association
Richard Meyer--Senior Regulatory Counsel, National Rural Electric 
Cooperative Association
Joan Dreskin--General Counsel, Interstate Natural Gas Association of 
America
2:45 p.m.- 3 p.m.--Break
3 p.m.- 4:15 p.m.--Second Panel--Various Issues Affecting Penalty 
Calculations

[[Page 67726]]

Joseph T. Kelliher--Executive Vice President, Federal Regulatory 
Affairs, NextEra Energy, Inc
William L. Massey--Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
Max Minzner--Associate Professor of Law, University of New Mexico 
School of Law
Frank R. Lindh--General Counsel, California Public Utilities Commission
4:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m.--Closing Remarks by Commission Members

[FR Doc. 2011-28398 Filed 11-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P