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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Jeff Dasovich X-To: Alan Comnes, Angela Schwarz, Beverly Aden, Bill Votaw, Brenda Barreda, Carol Moffett, Cathy Corbin, Chris H Foster, Christina Liscano, Christopher F Calger, Craig H Sutter, Dan Leff, Debora Whitehead, Dennis Benevides, Don Black, Dorothy Youngblood, Douglas Huth, Edward Sacks, Eric Melvin, Erika Dupre, Evan Hughes, Fran Deltoro, Frank W Vickers, Gayle W Muench, Ginger Dernehl, Gordon Savage, Harold G Buchanan, Harry Kingerski, Iris Waser, James D Steffes, James W Lewis, James Wright, Jeff Messina, Jeremy Blachman, Jess Hewitt, Joe Hartsoe, Karen Denne, Kathy Bass, Kathy Dodgen, Ken Gustafson, Kevin Hughes, Leasa Lopez, Leticia Botello, Mark S Muller, Marsha Suggs, Marty Sunde, Meredith M Eggleston, Michael Etringer, Michael Mann, Michelle D Cisneros, mpalmer@enron.com, Neil Bresnan, Neil Hong, Paul Kaufman, Paula Warren, Richard L Zdunkewicz, Richard Leibert, Richard Shapiro, Rita Hennessy, Robert Badeer, Roger Yang, Rosalinda Tijerina, Sandra McCubbin, Sarah Novosel, Scott Gahn, Scott Stoness, Sharon Dick, skean@enron.com, Susan J Mara, Tanya Leslie, Tasha Lair, Ted Murphy, Terri Greenlee, Tim Belden, Tony Spruiell, Vicki Sharp, Vladimir Gorny, Wanda Curry, William S Bradford, Kathryn Corbally, Jubran Whalan, triley@enron.com, Richard B Sanders, Robert C Williams, Greg Wolfe, James Wright, Dirk vanUlden, Steve Walker, Jennifer Rudolph, Martin Wenzel, Douglas Condon, wgang@enron.com, Scott Govenar <sgovenar@govadv.com<, Hedy Govenar <hgovenar@mail.acom2.com< @ ENRON X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Jeff_Dasovich_June2001\Notes Folders\Sent X-Origin: DASOVICH-J X-FileName: jdasovic.nsf ----- Forwarded by Jeff Dasovich/NA/Enron on 02/20/2001 06:52 PM ----- "Ronald Carroll" <rcarroll@bracepatt.com< 02/20/2001 06:47 PM To: <acomnes@enron.com<, <dfulton@enron.com<, <jdasovic@enron.com<, <jhartso@enron.com<, <jsteffe@enron.com<, <linda.robertson@enron.com<, <mary.hain@enron.com<, <smara@enron.com<, <snovose@enron.com< cc: Subject: Fwd: SF Chronicle - Critics Say ISO Rookies Will Hinder Resolving Crisis ----- Message from "Tracey Bradley" <tbradley@bracepatt.com< on Tue, 20 Feb 2001 18:42:24 -0600 ----- To: "Paul Fox" <pfox@bracepatt.com< cc: "Andrea Settanni" <asettanni@bracepatt.com<, "Ronald Carroll" <rcarroll@bracepatt.com< Subject: SF Chronicle - Critics Say ISO Rookies Will Hinder Resolving Crisis FYI - This article has quotes from FERC Chairman Hebert. He was highly critical of the "politicized control of transmission." Critics Say ISO Rookies Will Hinder Resolving Crisis Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, February 20, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Experience in the complicated world of energy didn't matter much when Gov. Gray Davis went shopping for a new set of policymakers to oversee the state- sponsored California Independent System Operator. Davis named five new members to the Cal-ISO board last month, replacing an unwieldy 26-member board whose members were selected to balance competing interests in electricity supply and transmission. The prior board was packed with longtime players in various industry and energy-policy arenas. But the board's reluctance to cap rates, among other things, led some to question its independence -- and eventually caused its demise when the Legislature moved to restructure the agency, based in Folsom, technically a nonprofit public-benefit corporation but in reality an arm of state energy policy. The new board includes only one member -- Mike Florio, senior attorney at The Utility Reform Network (TURN), a San Francisco-based consumer group -- with any significant background in the energy field. Florio, a perennial critic of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and other regulated utilities, was among the original members of the Cal-ISO board Davis and the Legislature dumped. Now, he is the only veteran left, surrounded by eager rookies. "There will be a learning curve, no question," said Terry Winter, Cal-ISO's chief executive officer. Remedial training is under way, but critics fear that may get in the way of solutions to the fast-breaking state power crisis. Curt Hebert, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, also faulted the new board's close ties to Sacramento, saying that "politicized control of transmission" could deter suppliers from entering California and sour other states on the idea of regional cooperation. "The ISO should operate as a truly independent operator of the grid," Hebert said. "But initial signs are not encouraging. Legislation adopted that makes the ISO board a political arm of the governor, with five handpicked members, could prove to be detrimental in the long run." Other observers view the Sacramento connection as a plus. "I expect there will be better overall coordination with the state now," said Susan Schneider, a former PG&E executive who now advises industry clients as a principal at Phoenix Consulting. "There's been a bit of a disconnect." The new board members insisted that the governor had started them out with no marching orders other than to do what's in the public's best interest. And while Davis' board may not know its new business quite yet, its members boast some formidable resumes in other fields. In any case, they have little direct control over the most important policy matters being decided in Sacramento and Washington. But that's not to say the Cal-ISO board has no significant role. "The ISO is going to be an important gear in whatever machine ends up fixing this thing," said Eric Saltmarsh, general counsel at the state Electricity Oversight Board. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ,2001 San Francisco Chronicle Page A11
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