Press release for Positioning the Consumer for the Future: A Roadmap to an Optimal Electric Power System

www.cecarf.org
For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2003

Contact: Peggy Welsh
202-659-0404

EXPERT PANEL CONCLUDES THAT BOTH COMPETITIVE AND REGULATED RETAIL ELECTRICITY MARKETS MUST PROVIDE BENEFITS TO CONSUMERS

Consumer and Environmental Leaders Team with Industry and Senior Government Officials to Advocate that Residential and Small Business Consumers Must be Shielded from Price Spikes

WASHINGTON, D.C. April 24, 2003 – The nation’s consumers can be provided benefits from their electric power system regardless of who serves them, according to a panel of experts representing all stakeholders in the electric power arena.

After a year of in-depth study and review, the distinguished forum, convened by the Consumer Energy Council of America (CECA), concluded that consumers will benefit through the provision of innovative services and new products. CECA President Ellen Berman said, “New products and services can, and should, be offered to consumers regardless of whether the state has retained its traditional regulated electric power service or opened its market to competition.”

Robert W. Fri, former Director of the Smithsonian Museum for Natural History and former President of Resources for the Future, chaired the CECA Forum on Electric Industry Restructuring. Other prominent members included Vice Chair Vicky Bailey, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy; Skila Harris, Director, the Tennessee Valley Authority; Elizabeth Moler, Executive Vice President for Government & Environmental Affairs and Public Policy at Exelon Corporation; and Marsha Smith, Commissioner, Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

The panel determined that in those states that have competition, residential and small business consumers must be provided electric power service at stable and equitable prices. CECA Forum Chair Robert W. Fri noted, “Consumers will benefit from upgrades to the transmission system – the backbone of the electric power delivery system -- to meet the increasing demands of the digital economy.”

The CECA Electric Industry Restructuring Forum recognized that many hurdles must be overcome before the nation’s electric power system can be modernized to meet the increasing demands of consumers in the years to come. The Forum’s deliberations resulted in a landmark report that provides recommendations to policymakers. Among the CECA Electric Industry Restructuring Forum’s key recommendations are:

• Consumers can and should have choices of services and products in all states regardless of whether the state has restructured its electric power market;
• Residential and small business consumers, especially low-income consumers, must be protected from price spikes in electric power service, while large commercial and industrial consumers are better able to respond to price and availability fluctuations;
• In states that have opened their electric market to competition, standard service should be available to those who do not want to change their provider or those who change their provider and then are either dissatisfied with their choice or their provider leaves the market;
• In states that have opened their markets to competition, the standard service price should be the benchmark against which competitive offers are provided;
• If designed properly, programs that provide incentives for consumers to alter their energy use can result in increased efficiency, lower costs, and greater system reliability; and
• The nation’s transmission system is aging and needs to be upgraded through technological enhancements to meet the needs of consumers in a digital economy.

“ This panel represented an extraordinarily high ranking group of experts who determined that there are opportunities for state and federal officials to enhance consumer benefits related to electric power service” said Ms. Berman. “The participants represented the major stakeholders, including every sector of the electric power industry, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, FERC Commissioners, chairs of state public service commissions, consumer and environmental leaders, and academia,” she noted. The Forum’s efforts resulted in policy recommendations to protect consumers from huge price spikes, while offering consumers choices of new products and services.”

“Consumer demand for greater reliability, improved power quality and new services made possible by emerging technologies will drive the electric power system of the future,” said Mr. Fri. “The energy infrastructure of the 21st century must provide consumer benefits regardless of how it is structured.”

Forum Vice Chair Vicky Bailey noted, “These recommendations were broadly supported by the CECA Forum’s members. The recommendations in the report support the U.S. Department of Energy objectives of moving forward to provide the necessary research and development needed to deploy new technologies so that all classes of energy consumers will have enhanced options and benefits in the near future.”

The list of Forum members is available here.

CECA is the senior public interest organization in the United States focusing on the energy,
telecommunications and other network industries that provide essential services to consumers. A leading national and international resource for policy information and analysis, CECA has three decades of experience building consensus among stakeholders and developing policy that serves the consumer’s interest.