
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 217 (Monday, November 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66718-66720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26565]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No., AD14-18-000]


Joint Technical Conference on New York Markets & Infrastructure; 
Second Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference

    As announced in notices issued on September 17, 2014 \1\ and 
October 10, 2014,\2\ the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) and the New York Public Service Commission will hold a 
joint technical conference on November 5, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 
p.m., to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern regarding the 
installed capacity market and energy infrastructure in New York and 
review the role of New York's centralized capacity market in attracting 
investment and ensuring resource adequacy and reliability. The 
conference will be held in the New York Institute of Technology 
Auditorium located at 1871 Broadway, between 61st and 62nd Streets, New 
York, NY 10023. An agenda identifying panelists for this conference is 
attached. This conference is free of charge and open to the public.
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    \1\ Joint Technical Conference on New York Markets & 
Infrastructure, Docket No. AD14-00018-000 (September 17, 2014).
    \2\ Supplemental Notice of Joint Technical Conference on New 
York Markets & Infrastructure, Docket No. AD14-00018-000 (October 
10, 2014).
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    The technical conference will be transcribed. There will also be a 
free webcast of the conference. The webcast will allow persons to 
listen to the technical conference but not participate. There is 
limited seating available at the conference venue, so those registrants 
that have a confirmed space will be contacted by email. We encourage 
all others to take advantage of the free webcast. The webcast is 
available at the following Web site: http://bcove.me/n8ovpqg7. The link 
will also be made available by navigating to the Calendar of Events at 
www.ferc.gov and locating the technical conference in the Calendar. A 
recording of the webcast will be made available after the conference in 
the same location on the Calendar of Events.
    While this conference is not for the purpose of discussing specific 
cases, we note that the discussions at the conference may address 
matters at issue in the following Commission proceedings that are 
either pending or within their rehearing period:

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 New York Independent  Docket No. ER12-2414
 System Operator, Inc.
 New York Independent  Docket No. ER10-2371
 System Operator, Inc.
 Independent Power     Docket No. EL13-62
 Producers of New York, Inc.
 v. New York Independent
 System Operator, Inc.
 Hudson Transmission   Docket No. EL12-98
 Partners, LLC v. New York
 Independent System Operator,
 Inc.
 Astoria Generating    Docket No. EL11-50
 Company, L.P., et al. v. New
 York Independent System
 Operator, Inc.
 Astoria Generating    Docket No. EL11-42
 Company, L.P., et al. v. New
 York Independent System
 Operator, Inc.
 New York Independent  Docket No. EL07-39
 System Operator, Inc.
 Dunkirk Power, LLC..  Docket No. ER12-2237
 Cayuga Operating      Docket No. ER13-405
 Company, LLC.
 Niagara Mohawk Power  Docket No. ER14-543
 Corp.
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    Information on the technical conference will be posted on the Web 
site http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?ID=7531&CalType=%20amp;CalendarID=116&Date=11/05/
2014&View=Listview, as well as the Calendar of Events on the 
Commission's Web site, http://www.ferc.gov, prior to the conference.
    Commission conferences are accessible under section 508 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations, please 
send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free 1-866-208-
3372 (voice) or 202-502-8659 (TTY), or send a FAX to 202-208-2106 with 
the required accommodations.

[[Page 66719]]

    For more information about the technical conference, please 
contact:

Kathleen Schnorf (Technical Information), Office of Energy Market 
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8547, Kathleen.Schnorf@ferc.gov.
Betty Watson (Technical Information), Office of Energy Policy and 
Innovation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8552, Betty.Watson@ferc.gov.
Kate Hoke (Legal Information), Office of General Counsel, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 502-8404, Katheryn.Hoke@ferc.gov.
Sarah McKinley (Logistical Information), Office of External Affairs, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, 
DC 20426, (202) 502-8004, Sarah.McKinley@ferc.gov.

    October 31, 2014.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.

Joint FERC-NYPSC Technical Conference on New York Markets & 
Infrastructure

Docket No. AD14-18-000, November 5, 2014

Agenda

8:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m.--Registration
9:00 a.m.-9:30 a.m.--Opening remarks by Commissioners
9:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m.--NYISO and Independent Market Monitor presentation

    NYISO and the Independent Market Monitor will report on the recent 
performance of NYISO's capacity market. NYISO will also describe 
current initiatives it is undertaking, and hurdles it is facing, as it 
seeks to improve performance of its capacity market to attract adequate 
investment in resources and infrastructure to efficiently meet New York 
State's reliability/resource adequacy needs. NYISO will provide 
information on recent investments made in resources and infrastructure 
through NYISO's markets and transmission planning efforts, and discuss 
the implementation of the new capacity zone in the Lower Hudson Valley. 
NYISO will provide a brief update on preparedness for the upcoming 
winter. Finally, the Independent Market Monitor will provide its 
recommendations for improved performance of NYISO's capacity market.

10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.--Panel One: Assessing the performance of NYISO's 
capacity market design in attracting investment in resources and 
infrastructure to meet reliability/resource adequacy needs

    This session will discuss the role of NYISO's capacity market in 
attracting investment in both resources and infrastructure in order to 
meet New York State's reliability and/or resource adequacy needs. In 
particular, panelists should discuss the particular capacity market 
design features that encourage merchant investment in resources and 
infrastructure. Panelists will be asked to discuss how the capacity 
market is addressing local and state-wide resource adequacy and 
reliability issues at just and reasonable rates. Finally, panelists 
should discuss what changes, if any, should be considered going forward 
to improve the performance of NYISO's capacity market.
    Panelists should be prepared to discuss the following questions:
    a. How do particular market design features impact infrastructure 
investment decisions by merchant entities? How can these market design 
aspects best address the interests of both buyers and sellers? How do 
buyer-side mitigation measures affect investment? Should the NYISO 
capacity market provide a longer revenue certainty period (e.g., 3, 5, 
or 10 years)? Does the existing NYISO capacity market appropriately 
incent investment as compared with three-year forward market designs in 
other capacity markets (e.g., PJM, ISO-NE)? Are long-term bilateral 
contracts a feasible alternative procurement mechanism for New York 
(e.g., California model)?
    b. Are changes to NYISO's capacity market necessary to better 
ensure resource performance during peak demand conditions (summer or 
winter)?
    c. Why are Reliability Support Services (RSS) needed? What is the 
effect of RSS agreements on the ability of the NYISO capacity market to 
efficiently meet the intended goal of incentivizing investment in 
resources and infrastructure? Are there other market and infrastructure 
impacts of the use of RSS agreements?
    d. How does NYISO coordinate its planning processes and its 
capacity market? Are there possible improvements in the coordination 
efforts?
    e. How is the planning of transmission, generation and other 
resources coordinated between retail and wholesale markets?
Panelists:
    Gavin Donohue--Independent Power Producers of New York
    Glenn Haake--New York Power Authority
    Marji Philips--Direct Energy
    Mike Mager--Multiple Intervenors
    Raymond Kinney--New York State Electric & Gas
    Robert O. Gurman--Pocono Manor Investors
12:15 p.m.-1:00 p.m.--Lunch Break
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.--Panel Two: Role of NYISO's capacity market in 
attracting investment in resources and infrastructure needed to meet 
public policy objectives

    This session will focus on whether, and to what extent, NYISO's 
capacity market should play a role in attracting investment in 
resources and infrastructure to meet public policy objectives. There 
may be a range of public policy objectives, including increasing 
renewable resources; maintaining or increasing clean energy resources 
to meet emission reduction goals; increasing distributed resources; 
increasing energy efficiency and demand response resources; maintaining 
fuel diversity; maintaining price stability for customers (wholesale, 
retail, commercial and industrial); economic development; and spurring 
investment in resources and infrastructure (both power lines and gas 
pipelines). Panelists should address whether these objectives are 
appropriately addressed through the NYISO capacity market. If so, this 
session will also include a discussion of whether certain aspects of 
the current NYISO capacity market design--in particular the capacity 
market product definition--need to change to achieve the requisite 
public policy objectives. The discussion may also explore whether some 
of these objectives are complementary or in conflict with other 
objectives.
    Panelists should be prepared to discuss the following questions:
    a. Are changes to the capacity market needed to account for fuel 
availability/firmness of fuel, or to differentiate the value of 
capacity resources based on the ``firmness'' of fuel arrangements?
    b. Should the capacity market specifically account for or otherwise 
value resources that are intended to meet current or future public 
policy goals (e.g., fuel diversity or emission reduction goals)? How 
should there be modifications to the buyer-side mitigation rules to 
help achieve those goals?
    c. What price signals and tariff changes may be needed to achieve 
the objectives under discussion in the PSC's Reforming the Energy 
Vision (REV) proceeding?

[[Page 66720]]

    d. Are there market, environmental, or other barriers to entry in 
certain locations or for certain kinds of resources (e.g., repowering 
assets in New York City)?
    e. Are there broader market design features outside of the capacity 
market (e.g., scarcity and shortage pricing) that could be adjusted to 
account for public policy objectives (e.g., increasing renewables)?
Panelists:
    Kevin Lang--City of New York
    Jackson Morris--Natural Resources Defense Council
    John Reese--USPowerGen
    James Holodak Jr.--National Grid
    Patricia Stanton--Conservation Services Group
    Scott Harvey--FTI Consulting
3:00 p.m.-3:15 p.m.--Break
3:15 p.m.-4:00 p.m.--Roundtable discussion among Commissioners/Wrap up

    Discussion of possible paths forward for identified issues and 
solutions.

[FR Doc. 2014-26565 Filed 11-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


