Massachusetts Attorney General Announces Energy Consumer Liaison Group

The Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, has announced --

Energy Consumer Liaison Group Kick-Off Meeting July 29, 2009

As the Massachusetts ratepayer advocate, one of my concerns is that actual consumers of energy - businesses, individuals and their advocates - are often not at the table when decisions are made about the costs and the reliability of the energy that we receive. The decision-making process can often be too complicated, time consuming, and costly for consumers and their advocates to play a meaningful role.

That is why my Office pushed for ISO New England Inc., the region's bulk power operator, to create a Consumer Liaison Group (CLG), which will meet periodically with leaders at ISO, to give consumers and their advocates an opportunity to participate in decision making regarding the region's electrical system. Many of the most important decisions that affect the price and reliability of energy in New England are made by ISO. We urge consumers and their advocates to participate in the CLG - it is open to all.

The first meeting of the CLG is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29 from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough, MA.

Below is the invitation that ISO issued regarding the meeting, which includes information about how to register.

Please contact Jed Nosal, Chief of our Energy & Telecommunications Division, at (617) 963-2106 if you have any questions.

We hope you will join us on July 29.

Cordially,

Martha Coakley
Massachusetts Attorney General



Message from ISO-New England, Inc.

ISO New England Inc., operator of the region's bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets, is beginning a very important initiative to enhance consumer involvement in the regional electricity system's decision-making process. Consumers pay for the infrastructure investments needed on the electric system to ensure that it is reliable and adequate to meet growing demands. However, they may not have an opportunity to get involved in the considerations that lead to these investments, including how the electric system is operated, planned and built, and the rules governing the region's wholesale electric markets. ISO New England is working with consumer-focused organizations including states' attorneys general and consumer advocates to create a Consumer Liaison Group (CLG) to provide such an opportunity. The purpose of the CLG is to establish a forum for the sharing of information between ISO New England and those who ultimately use and pay for electricity in New England. The goal is for consumers and consumer representatives to gain a greater understanding of ISO activities and proposals, and the decision-making process regarding these activities, and to increase their overall knowledge of the operation of the bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets. In turn, ISO New England will benefit from direct communications with consumer representatives and develop a better understanding of consumer issues and concerns relative to the electric system.

By way of background, ISO New England serves as the regional transmission organization (RTO) for the six-state New England region ensuring reliable electric service for all consumers. In this role, ISO New England is responsible for the day-to-day reliable operation of New England's bulk power generation and transmission system; fair administration of the region's wholesale electricity markets; and long-term regional planning. ISO New England is a non-profit, private corporation and has no financial holding or interest in any company doing business in the region's wholesale electricity marketplace, is governed by an independent board, and receives its jurisdiction from the federal government. ISO New England is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the independent agency that oversees the interstate transmission of natural gas, oil, and electricity. In this regard, all of the decisions made by ISO New England must be approved by FERC. In fact, it was FERC's two-year examination of the competitiveness of wholesale markets and responsiveness of regional transmission organizations and independent system operators that led ISO New England to conduct a process to see how it could improve its responsiveness to New England stakeholders, including consumers. Consumer representatives actively participated in the process and, along with the diverse stakeholder groups that make up the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), spearheaded formation of the CLG. NEPOOL is the stakeholder organization that advises ISO New England, and represents a diverse set of interests, including electricity end-users. NEPOOL fulfills this role through a comprehensive stakeholder process that allows for consideration of the current performance of the market, as well as proposals to modify and improve the marketplace. In addition to involvement with the ISO, the CLG will also assist consumers to participate more actively and meaningfully in this process.

Please join us for the kick-off meeting of the CLG, to be held on Wednesday, July 29 from 9:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough, MA, to hear about and shape this new important initiative.

At this first meeting, there will be a discussion about the CLG leadership structure and ongoing work with ISO-NE. The meeting is open to all and an agenda will be available as we get closer to the meeting date. In the meantime, please feel free to forward this invitation to those you believe will benefit from the group and anyone else who may be interested.

To register for this meeting, please visit the ISO-NE website (Note: you will have to log into your ISO TEN account before you can register). For questions or comments, please contact Carolyn O'Connor at coconnor@iso-ne.com or (413) 535-4129.