“Coping with Climate Change” event adds FERC member Moeller, Others

MADISON, Wis. – FERC member Philip Moeller will join Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., and former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair James Hoecker as keynoters at the “Coping with Climate Change” conference on Monday, Feb. 11.

Because of significant interest in the conference and the addition of Moeller, the event will be lengthened into the afternoon, organizers WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com announced.

The conference at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison will bring together energy experts with Wisconsin, Midwest and Washington, D.C. perspectives to discuss the ins and outs of how energy providers, energy distributors and energy regulators are coping with the prospect of broad and rapid climate change.

Moeller was nominated by President Bush, and sworn into office on July 24, 2006 for a term expiring June 30, 2010.

Moeller previously served as executive director of the Washington Office for the Alliant Energy Corporation. Prior to this, he served as director of federal relations at Calpine Corporation. Earlier in his career, he served as senior legislative assistant for electricity policy for U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton.

Other additions include: Judy Ziewacz, director of the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence created by Gov. Jim Doyle; Wisconsin Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, chairman of the Senate Utilities Committee; UW-Madison Prof. Michael L. Corradini, chair and Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Director of the Wisconsin Institute of Nuclear Systems; and Rob Olszewski, Plum Creek Vice President, Environmental Affairs.

Other confirmed keynote speakers:

— Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner is the ranking Republican on Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Sensenbrenner, the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Science Committee, was first elected to the U.S. House in 1978. Residing in Menomonee Falls, he represents Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District.

— Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. She has represented Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District since being elected in 1998. Her committee was instrumental in passing the new Energy Independence and Security Act, which aims to move the United States closer to energy independence. Baldwin, a member of the committee’s energy subcommittee, added language to the bill to increase industrial and home energy efficiency standards, encourage advanced battery and plug-in hybrid programs, minimize exposure to mercury in energy-efficient light bulbs, and study the adequacy of railroad transportation for renewable fuels.

— James J. “Jim” Hoecker is a retired partner of the Washington, D.C., office of Vinson & Elkins. He now is the principal of a new firm, Hoecker Energy, Law & Policy PLLC. He was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from 1997-2001 during the Clinton administration. In all, he served nearly eight years as a commissioner and was responsible for, among other things, instituting regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to administer the bulk electric power system and streamlining the agency’s regulatory processes.

Other conference participants include: former Wisconsin and federal regulator Branko Terzic of Deloitte Services (also chairman of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Cleaner Electricity Production from Coal and Other Fossil Fuels); Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chair Dan Ebert; Robert Garvin, a former PSC commissioner who now is vice president of regulatory affairs for FPL Energy; former Wisconsin PSC Chair Ave Bie, a partner at Quarles & Brady; Brett Hulsey, president, Better Environmental Solutions; Dave Parker, senior utility analyst at Robert W Baird & Co.; Jim Turnure, Environmental Policy Manager for the Xcel Energy service territories in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas; Lou Hayden, policy analyst and Climate Change Team Leader for the American Petroleum Institute; and Charlie Severance, General Manager – Wholesale Electric & Renewable Energy at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.

The event is open to the public. Individual tickets cost $50 if purchased by Jan. 31; tickets after that cost $75 each. Tables are available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of $600. Student discounts also will be available. The ticket price includes two meals.

 

Initial sponsors of the event include We Energies, Xcel Energy, Wal-Mart, Dominion, Plum Creek Timber Company, Wisconsin Public Service, the American Petroleum Institute, WHDGA and Alliant Energy.  The Canadian Government is an event partner.

 

For ticket and sponsor information, contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 and greer@wispolitics.com.


WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com are independent, non-partisan news services based in Madison. Go to www.wispolitics.com and www.wisbusiness.com for more on the services.

EVENT DETAILS

FUTURE OF MIDWEST ENERGY: Coping with Climate Change

Event Description: The FUTURE OF MIDWEST ENERGY: Coping with Climate Change conference will assemble key business, government and research representatives to explore energy issues in light of climate change predictions for the Midwest United States and the world. This forum will also address potential new advances in energy, their business applications and their impact on government policy.

 

Event details and a tentative agenda are listed below.


Date: Monday, February 11, 2008


Location: Monona Terrace Convention Center, located in downtown Madison.


Format: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.


AGENDA:

**Monday**

8 AM – Registration Begins

9 AM – Breakfast Begins
Welcome Keynote: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Keynote: Former Clinton Administration FERC Chair Jim Hoecker

Breakout Session I – Panel Discussion
10:10 AM – 11 AM
Energy Today
Moderator: Ave Bie, Quarles & Brady, former Wisconsin Public Service Commission chair.
Panel members: UW-Madison Prof. Michael L. Corradini, chair and Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Director of the Wisconsin Institute of Nuclear Systems; Jim Turnure, Environmental Policy Manager for the Xcel Energy service territories in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas; Lou Hayden, policy analyst and Climate Change Team Leader for the American Petroleum Institute; and Charlie Severance, General Manager – Wholesale Electric & Renewable Energy at Wisconsin Public Service Corporation.

Breakout Session II – Panel Discussion
11:10 AM –  NOON
Energy Policy — Today and Tomorrow
Moderator: Jeff Mayers, president, WisPolitics.com-WisBusiness.com.
Panel Members: former Wisconsin and federal regulator Branko Terzic of Deloitte Services (also chairman of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Cleaner Electricity Production from Coal and Other Fossil Fuels); Wisconsin Public Service Commission Chair Dan Ebert; Robert Garvin, a former PSC commissioner who now is vice president of regulatory affairs for FPL Energy; and Wisconsin Sen. Jeff Plale, D-South Milwaukee, chairman of the Senate Utilities Committee.

12:15 PM- Luncheon Begins

12:30 — 1:10 PM Keynote: Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Ranking Republican, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.

Breakout Session III-Panel Discussion
1:30 PM – 2:20 PM
Energy Tomorrow
Moderator: Mark Williamson, partner in the Madison public relations firm Putnam Roby and Willamson, and former executive at American Transmission Co. and Madison Gas & Electric.
Panel members: Judy Ziewacz, director of the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence created by Gov. Jim Doyle; Brett Hulsey, president, Better Environmental Solutions; Dave Parker, senior utility analyst at Robert W Baird & Co.; and Rob Olszewski, Plum Creek Vice President, Environmental Affairs.


NETWORKING BREAK

FINAL KEYNOTE, FERC Commissioner Philip Moeller
2:45 PM – 3:25 PM

3:30 CONFERENCE CONCLUDES