SAVE THE DATE: CUB’s 5th Annual Policy Conference - October 23, 2015

Imagine it is the year 2025. Oregon utilities have complied with the 25% RPS and are in the middle of complying with the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. Energy Imbalance Markets are functioning throughout the region and with demand response programs, customers are actively participating in utility efforts to balance supply and load.

Or…maybe not.

The fifth annual CUB Policy Conference, Utility 2025: Building the Northwest’s Energy Future will occur on Friday, October 23rd, 2015. This conference will explore the challenges and opportunities that utilities in the Pacific NW will face in the coming decade. Our opening panel “The View from the Top: A Conversation with NW Utility CEOs” will include our own Bob Jenks talking with:

Scott Morris - Avista Corporation;
Elliot Mainzer - BPA;
Gregg Kantor - Northwest Natural;
Stefan Bird – Pacific Power;
Jim Piro - Portland General Electric.

Jude Nolan, Clearing Up’s Senior Contributing Editor will moderate this panel. As in the past, the day’s programs are specifically designed to educate utility analysts, policy analysts, attorneys, industry professionals, stakeholders, and others working in and around the energy industry.

Last year was standing room only, and so this year we have moved to the Downtown Portland Hilton, allowing us to expand registration. Once again we will have a light breakfast, a fabulous lunch, and a day-end reception with wine and beer. Should you be traveling from out of town, the Hilton has blocked a group of rooms for your convenience. For more information, visit our conference website: http://cubpolicycenter.org/conference.

In addition to outstanding panels, we will hear from CUB Executive Director Bob Jenks, PUC Chair Susan Ackerman, and an as-of-yet undisclosed closing Keynote. CUB’s Board President, Dan Jaynes of Iberdrola will be our emcee. Watch for special Policy Conference preview blogs in the coming months, or check out our hashtag #Utility2025 on Twitter for updated information.

We have already had a great response to sponsorship opportunities and we are pleased to announce that our first sponsors include: Pacific Power, NW Natural, Avista, Iberdrola, Research Into Action, and Renewable Northwest. We appreciate those in the energy world who are willing to support the important conversations that this Policy Conference facilitates. If you are interested in sponsoring this year’s conference, contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 503-227-1984 x10.

Here are this year’s break-out panel topics:

Topic 1:
They’re Hee-re…111(d)‘s New Regulatory Reality
After months (and months) of waiting, the Clean Power Plan (EPA rule 111(d)) is now a reality. So where did we actually end up, and how will the rules be implemented? What are the implications for the utility of the future? We will explore these questions, touching on possibilities for inter-state cooperation and the nitty-gritty of greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

Topic 2:
Distribute This: Generation for a New Generation
Much has been made of the “utility death spiral”, or the perception that centrally located baseload plants are under threat from ever more distributed resources such as rooftop solar. Is this worry justified, or can distributed generation be a win-win proposition? How will the utility of 2025 balance distributed generation with the demands of safety, reliability, and affordability?

Topic 3:
Got Gas?
The role of gas utilities grows uncertain as we look toward an increasingly carbon-constrained industry. Can gas resources be used to shape and firm renewable resources? What are the possibilities for renewable gas? How can gas utilities operate and use their commodity as an integrated part of the energy industry of the future?

Topic 4:
The Customer Side of the Meter: Energy Efficiency and Demand Response
The EPA’s Clean Power Plan relies on energy efficiency to make carbon emissions reduction affordable. Increasingly, utilities are using demand response programs to reduce peak loads. Maintaining the level of energy efficiency that is expected in the Clean Power Plan will require programs that we have not yet envisioned. Making demand response a key part of a power system that relies less on large baseload power plants will require a level of customer engagement that we have never seen. What role will customer engagement play in making these programs achievable?

Topic 5:
Let’s Get Loaded
Server farms and indoor agriculture (marijuana farming warehouses) are here and are a growing presence in the region. Concerns over carbon are also increasing the use of electricity and natural gas as vehicle fuels. After more than a decade with little load growth in the region, is there about to be a change? If so, what will utilities need to do to maintain reliability in the face of these changes?

Topic 6
Beyond the RPS
By 2025, Oregon’s Renewable Energy Standard will be fully implemented, requiring the state’s largest utilities to get 25% of their power from renewable resources. But what‘s next? A higher RPS? Other incentives? Where will renewables fit into the mix as we enter the second quarter of the 21st Century?

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