|
2004-2005 MEUW Officers and Board of Directors
Based on the district elections held in May 2004, and the general elections held during the Annual Business Meeting on June 11, congratulations to the following members of the 2004-2005 MEUW Board of Directors:
OFFICERS:
President Dave Mikonowicz, Reedsburg; 1st Vice Pres. Steve Thompson, New London;
2nd Vice Pres. Mark Frye, Oconomowoc; Secretary-Treasurer Larry Bocock, Sun Prairie;
Past Pres. Richard Kirchoff, Hustisford; Executive Director David Benforado, MEUW.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: District 1: Director Carl Gaulke, River Falls; Alternate Director William Marx, Spooner;
District 2: Director Tim Putz, Arcadia; Alternate Director Rick Skifton, Wisconsin Rapids;
District 3: Director John Boogren, Clintonville; Alternate Director Robert Friberg, Florence;
District 4: Director Doug Young, Menasha; Alternate Director Tom Bushman, Two Rivers;
District 5: Director Cecil Rolfe, Bangor; Alternate Director John Hauser, Cashton;
District 6: Director Pat Drone, Prairie du Sac; Alternate Director Marv Dolphin, Jr., Lodi;
District 7: Director John MacKinnon, Plymouth; Alternate Director Merlin Luedke, Juneau;
District 8: Director Mike Reynolds, Boscobel; Alternate Director Greg Lee, Fennimore;
District 9: Director Jim Mielke, New Glarus; Alternate Director David Herfel, Mt. Horeb;
District 10: Director Art Schmitz, Elkhorn; Alternate Director Dale Lythjohan, Cedarburg.
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS: John Andler, Columbus; Bill McCorkle, Richland Center; Jeff Feldt, Kaukauna; Scott Reimer, Rice Lake.
Back to the top
MISO Day 2 Energy Market Lurches Forward
By Attorney Richard A. Heinemann, Boardman Law Firm
Readers of Live Lines know that MEUW and other Wisconsin utilities have been tracking a number of proposed changes to the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO). The most important of these is MISO’s so-called “Day 2” energy markets tariff (EMT), which MISO intends to implement throughout the MISO region (see Mike May’s article in the February, 2004 issue of Live Lines, entitled “MISO Changes to Impact Wisconsin”).
MISO first proposed its EMT in 2003, but withdrew the application when, in the wake of the August blackout, numerous stakeholders in Wisconsin and elsewhere raised questions about MISO’s readiness to implement the complex market. On March 31, 2004, MISO submitted a new EMT proposal to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The EMT would create a market-based congestion management program in which the price of transporting energy would be established by utilities by bidding into Day-Ahead and Real-Time markets. Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs) would be allocated to transmission customers as a means of hedging against congestion costs (for a good technical explanation of the proposed market, see Marlin Vrbas’s article, “Preparing for MISO Market Implementation,” in the March, 2004 issue of Live Lines.)
In contrast to the EMT proposal first submitted by MISO in 2003, the March 31st filing attempted to address some of the issues of greatest concern to stakeholders, including the treatment of existing contracts that predate the onset of MISO’s open access transmission service (the so-called “grandfathered” agreements, or GFAs), and the FTR allocation procedure. Once again, however, the EMT met with numerous protests, including protests from a wide spectrum of Wisconsin utilities, customer coalitions and the state Public Service Commission -- all of whom are especially concerned about the potential impact of the new market in Eastern Wisconsin, one of the most highly isolated and congested areas in the country.
In May, FERC provided a preliminary response to MISO’s proposal. The FERC order pushes back MISO’s proposed timetable from December, 2004 to March, 2005. The delay is designed, at least in part, to give MISO more time to settle on a methodology for nominating and allocating FTRs, as well as to complete a series of market trials so that MISO and stakeholders alike can make appropriate adjustments prior to actual implementation of the market. Because the FTR projections submitted by MISO to this point have given only a blurry picture of how the actual allocations will be made, the three-month delay has been generally viewed by stakeholders as a welcome development.
In addition, the FERC order establishes an expedited procedure for resolving some of the factual issues involved in determining whether and how the GFAs can be incorporated into the new market. Many stakeholders are especially concerned that the FERC-imposed procedure will open the door for substantial modification -- if not outright termination - of existing contracts, despite FERC’s repeated assurances to the contrary. Parties to the GFAs have been working fast and furious to see if they can agree on how best to respond to FERC’s procedural requirements.
The timetable for implementation of the Day 2 markets established by the FERC order dictates that subsequent orders will be issued prior to the beginning of the FTR nomination process in October, 2004. Before these orders are issued -- and the precise rules of the game are established -- stakeholders must have a means of assessing how the new market will impact them. Although MISO has touted the potential benefits of the new market, there is still no consensus among stakeholders or experts on the parameters required to set up a model for accurately measuring such benefits, and the likely potential costs, of establishing the new market.
Although it is unlikely at this point that FERC’s final order will completely reject the EMT, the order could impose a number of conditions, including (i) “safety net” provisions to hold transmission customers harmless from the potential costs of the new market; (ii) more precise mechanisms to protect customers from potential market power abuses and resolve problems caused by the continued existence of “seams” between MISO and neighboring regional transmission organization service territories; and (iii) protocols for measuring whether MISO is adequately prepared to implement the new market. FERC could also agree to impose a phased-in transition process that has been proposed a diverse group of Wisconsin utilities to help ease the feared impacts of the EMT on the congestion-ridden areas of Eastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.
It is expected that Wisconsin stakeholders, including the state Public Service Commission and the various groups representing the interests of MEUW utilities, will continue to fight to make sure that the market is implemented in as fair and judicious a manner as possible. In the meantime, MEUW member utilities should continue to be involved in the process by staying informed, asking questions, and as much as possible, taking more formal steps to assess the potential impact of the new markets on your utilities.
Back to the top
75th MEUW Annual Conference in Oconomowoc:
Challenges and Opportunities for Public Power
The 75th MEUW Annual Conference was held at the Oconomowoc Olympia Resort and Conference Center on June 9-11, 2004.
This year’s theme was The Changing Electric Industry: Challenges and Opportunities for Public Power. APPA Chair (and Waverly, Iowa, Light & Power General Manager) Glenn Cannon addressed that theme with his presentation, Environmental Responsibility and Public Power: a Challenge.
We were privileged to hold the Conference in a Public Power community, Oconomowoc. The Olympia Resort and Conference Center hosted not only the Conference, but the annual Golf Outing as well. It was very nice to have everything “under one roof” so to speak. And kudos to the City of Oconomowoc for being such excellent hosts!
Once again, members of the Wisconsin Utility Suppliers Association (see page 7) sponsored the Wednesday afternoon trade show & reception, as well as part of the cost of Thursday’s banquet entertainment. They also donated prizes for the Golf Outing and door prizes for the Awards Banquet. Thanks, WUSA!
We hope to see you at next year’s conference, June 8-10, 2005, at the La Crosse Center and the Radisson Hotel. Please also mark your calendars for the Joint Superintendents Conference, January 19-21 at the Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton.
Back to the top
Four Resolutions Adopted at MEUW Annual Meeting
Since 1998, the MEUW has made a special effort to pass substantive policy resolutions each year at the MEUW Annual Meeting. They have become an effective tool to develop an MEUW position on issues, direct MEUW staff as to those issues, and to communicate MEUW’s position in those matters to others. The following resolutions will be printed into a booklet and circulated to all members of the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation in Washington, DC, the Governor, PSC Commissioners, all Wisconsin Legislators, MEUW members and other interested parties:
• 2004-1: Opposing Assembly Joint Resolution 55, Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR);
• 2004-2: Thanking Various Wisconsin Officials for Helping to Protect Wisconsin Consumers from the Unknown Costs, Risks and Other Uncertainties Associated with Implementing MISO's "Day 2" Wholesale Electric Market;
• 2004-3: Opposing the Proposed Sale of the 525 MW Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant Because the Sale Will Result in the Loss of State Jurisdiction Over the Plant and a Negative Impact on Wisconsin’s Jobs Creation and Economic Development Efforts;
• 2004-4: Supporting a Flexible, Cost-Effective Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in Wisconsin.
Back to the top
W.U.S.A. Members Contributed to Annual Conference Success
In addition to a variety of vendor displays and the traditional Wednesday evening reception at the Annual Conference, W.U.S.A. members this year co-sponsored the banquet entertainment and donated door prizes. Once again, we could not have put together such a full conference program without W.U.S.A.’s support. Listed below are the 2004-2005 members of the Wisconsin Utility Suppliers’ Association, who are also MEUW’s Associate Members. Please thank them the next time you do business with them.
A. C. Engineering Company
A Star Electric Company
Abacus Technologies LLC
ABM Equipment & Supply
Access Engineering, LLC
Action Battery Wholesalers
Alpha Technologies
Alpha Terra Science
Altec Industries
American Payment Centers
American Power & Comm. Group
American Test Center
APA Optics, Inc.
Badger Meter Inc.
Bell Lumber & Pole Company
Bergstrom-Verbarg Co.
Black & Veatch
Border States Electric Supply Co.
Burmeister Electric Co.
Burndy Products
C3-Ilex, LLC
Cable Constructors, Inc.
Capitol Engineering, Inc.
Champion Charter Sales & Service
Chapman Metering LLC
CIT
Civic Systems, LLC
Cooper Power Systems
Cornell & Associates, Inc.
Corning Cable Systems
Crescent Electric Supply
Cummins Npower, LLC
Delta Power Systems
Dicke Tool Company
Dimensions Unltd., DC to AC Inverters
DJB Inspections
DUECO, Inc.
DuPont Protective Apparel
Electrical Consultants, Inc.
Electrical Resources Company
Electrotech
Emeco, Inc.
Enterprise Lighting Ltd.
FABCO Engine Systems
Forster Electrical Engineering
FRESCO, Inc.
General Cable
GEN~SYS Energy
L. F. George, Inc.
GS Systems
Henshue Construction, Inc.
High Voltage Equipment Diagnostics
HiLine Utility Supply
HiTech Control Systems, Inc.
Hooper Corporation
Hughes Supply
Hunt Technologies, Inc.
Hydro Metering Technology
JSG Electric Company
Kerber, Rose & Associates
Key Engineering Group, Ltd.
Koch’s Telecommunications Services
KW Associates
Lancaster & Associates, Inc.
Lehman Company & Associates
Lightriver Technologies
M C Sales
Martensen & Eisele, Inc.
Michels Corporation
Midwest Electrical Sales
Midwest Electrical Testing
Minnkota Electric Sales
Moore Syndication, Inc.
The L. E. Myers Company
New Sunrise Beginnings
The Northridge Group, Inc.
North Shore Engineering, Inc.
Northwind Technical Services, Inc.
The Okonite Company
Optical Solutions
Orion Lighting & Energy Services
PCI Mgmt. & Consulting/Midwest Power
E. A. Pedersen Company
Pieper Electric
Powel Group, Inc.
Power System Engineering, Inc.
Powercom Corporation
Professional Computer Systems
Push Incorporated
R E S C O
Satisfaction Development Systems
SEH
Solomon Corporation
Stanley Consultants, Inc.
Steffes Corporation
Strand Associates, Inc.
Superior Electric
T & R Electric Supply Co.
Tariff Patrol
Thiermann Industries, Inc.
Transformer Decommissioning
UAP Timberland
United Underground Utilities LLC
Upper Midwest Utility Sales
Utilities Plus Energy Services, Inc.
Utility Sales Associates
Utility Sales & Service, Inc.
Utility Tool & Body Co., Inc.
Vannguard Utility Partners
Vermeer-Wisconsin, Inc.
Virchow, Krause & Company, LLP
J. L. Walker & Associates
Weldy-Lamont Associates, Inc.
WESCO Distribution
Wright Tree Service
Back to the top |
