Text Only Version - Privacy Policy & P3P

_
 
 
 

Link to Letter From Joseph Kelliher

Wyden Will Lift “Hold” on FERC Nominee
Letter eases Senator’s concern about Joseph Kelliher’s understanding
of Western energy issues

September 30, 2003

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today announced that he will remove his “hold” on the nomination of Joseph Kelliher to become a commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Wyden had formally objected to the nomination in March, following a confirmation hearing in which Kelliher failed to demonstrate an understanding of the impact of manipulation of West Coast energy markets on Northwest ratepayers or the problems the Commission's standard market design proposal could create for the Northwest electric power grid. Today, Wyden received a letter from Kelliher addressing those issues and evidencing a fuller understanding of their impact on Northwest ratepayers; as a result, the Senator will remove his hold on the Kelliher nomination, effective immediately.

“This communication from Mr. Kelliher reveals that he’s done his homework about energy issues critical to the West in general and the Northwest in particular,” said Wyden. “From standard market design to regional transmission organizations to the effects of market manipulation, I am confident that Mr. Kelliher has reached a better understanding of the particular challenges Northwest ratepayers face.”

At Kelliher’s nomination hearing, Wyden expressed concern over the FERC proposal to create a one-size-fits-all standard market design for transmission systems that would be ill-suited to the Northwest’s transmission system and could create new opportunities for manipulation of Northwest energy markets In his letter today, Kelliher assured Wyden that he believes in regional flexibility for energy markets, rather than the “imposition of uniform national market rules.”

Wyden also questioned Kelliher over the manipulation of West Coast spot markets by Enron, which has had a devastating impact on Northwest energy consumers. As a result of that manipulation, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and many other Northwest utilities were induced to sign long-term electricity contracts in order to protect themselves from the volatility of the spot markets. In his letter, Kelliher advocated the express prohibition of the kind of market manipulation that sent Western energy prices sky-high during the energy crisis of 2001. He also advocated reform in cases where Pacific Northwest energy contracts signed during that crisis are found to be discriminatory, fraudulent, or to impose an “excessive burden” on consumers.

# # #