WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/

An expansive and diverse group of 82 electricity market stakeholders - including retail electricity customers, consumer groups, retail service providers, economists and academics, utilities, generators, former utility regulators and innovative demand response service providers - today jointly urged federal energy regulators to stay the course in a pivotal rulemaking designed to improve organized regional wholesale electricity markets.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should maintain the scope of its June 22, 2007, advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR), which identified four areas for important incremental improvements in the organized wholesale power markets, the coalition said in its regulatory filing today.

The broad-based coalition noted that fundamental redesign of the markets would be disruptive and harmful to consumers.

"The Commission is on solid ground in its regulation of organized competitive wholesale electricity markets, and should not overturn its precedents and weaken confidence in the organized markets based upon such a thin and unsubstantiated pleading," the coalition told the Commission.

The coalition noted that FERC has already determined competitive markets to be successful. "The Commission's observations in the ANOPR are right on point: the organized markets are producing the benefits expected. The price signals in the organized markets allow regional system operators and consumers to measure the value of demand response and thereby provide a solid foundation for the substantial growth in demand response seen in the organized markets in recent years. Competitive pressures have improved the operating efficiency of power plants, resulting in cost savings, fewer outages and enhanced reliability."

"The ANOPR clearly acknowledges the important innovations and efficiencies made possible by competitive markets," said William Massey, former FERC commissioner and Counsel to COMPETE. "Many solutions to the country's pressing energy and environmental challenges, such as renewable energy development and innovative demand response programs, are already happening in competitive electricity markets. The regulatory uncertainty from a drastic redesign of these markets would threaten the investment we need to continue these gains and meet these challenges going forward."

The coalition's filing responded to a Dec. 17, 2007, request by large industrial energy users and other interest groups making unsubstantiated claims and asking the Commission to expand the scope of its proceeding to entail a formal Federal Power Act investigation of the organized markets overseen by regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs).

"As the record in this proceeding demonstrates, there is no evidence of 'deep systemic problems' in organized electric power markets. If anything, these markets would benefit from the regulatory stability the Commission intends as it considers incremental changes that will improve market functioning," the coalition told the commission.

The Dec. 17 filing does not meet the regulatory requirements for initiating a section 206 investigation, the coalition told the Commission, calling the filing "remarkably deficient" and a "rehash of old argument, barren of facts or new insights."

In the ANOPR, the Commission identified four issues to consider: (1) the role of demand response and greater use of market prices to promote electricity demand reductions during a power shortage; (2) improving opportunities for long-term power contracting; (3) market monitoring; and (4) board governance at the RTOs and ISOs.

The coalition's filing urged the Commission to maintain the scope of issues it identified in the ANOPR, as they appropriately address the most salient issues identified during two technical conferences last year and extensive comments the Commission obtained in framing the ANOPR.

A list of the signatories is attached to this press release. The filing is available at http://www.competecoalition.com/.

Attachment A Signatories 7-Eleven, Inc. Allegheny Energy Alliance for Real Energy Options (OH) Alliance for Retail Choice Alliance for Retail Energy Markets (CA) Alliance for Retail Markets (TX) Ardmore Power Logistics Professor Ross Baldick, IEEE Fellow, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin Big Lots Stores, Inc.

Nora Mead Brownell, BC Consulting, former FERC Commissioner and former PaPUC Commissioner

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis

California Alliance for Competitive Energy Solutions (CACES) California Grocers Association California Retailers Association Laura Chappelle, Attorney, former Chairman, MI PSC Colorado Independent Energy Association COMPETE Constellation Energy Comverge, Inc. Conectiv Energy Peter Cramton, Professor of Economics, University of Maryland DC Energy, LLC David W. DeRamus, Partner, Bates White, LLC Direct Energy Services, LLC Richard A. Drom, Partner, Powell Goldstein LLP Edison Mission Energy Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) Electric Power Generation Association (PA) Energy Association of Pennsylvania Energy Curtailment Specialists, Inc. Enermetrix Enerwise Global Technologies Exelon Corporation FirstEnergy Corp. William L. Flynn, Partner, Harris Beach PLLC, former Chairman, NY PSC John Hanger, former PaPUC Commissioner Hess Corporation William W. Hogan, Raymond Plank Professor of Global Energy Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Illinois Energy Association Illinois Retail Merchants Association Independent Energy Producers Association (IEP) Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY) JCPenney Kimball Resources, Inc. Jerry J. Langdon, former FERC Commissioner LS Power Associates, L.P. Luminant Macy's Inc. Midwest Independent Power Suppliers Mirant Corporation Elizabeth A. Moler, Exelon Corporation, former Chair of FERC National Energy Marketers Association New England Energy Alliance New England Power Generators Association, Inc. Northwest and Intermountain Power Producers Coalition (NIPPC) NRG Energy, Inc. Nuclear Energy Institute PennFuture PetSmart, Inc. Piney Creek LP PJM Power Providers Group PowerGrid Systems, Inc. PPL Corporation Priority Power Management, Ltd. PSEG Companies John M. Quain, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, former Chairman of PaPUC Reliant Energy Retail Energy Suppliers Association (RESA) Safeway Inc. School Project for Utility Rate Reduction (SPURR) Sempra Energy Shell Energy North America (US) Silicon Valley Leadership Group Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Economics and Law, Chapman University David A. Svanda, Svanda Consulting, former MI PSC Commissioner and former President of NARUC Glen Thomas, GT Power, former Chairman of PaPUC Telga Corporation Texas Competitive Power Advocates TXU Energy Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Western Power Trading Forum Pat Wood, III, Former Chairman of FERC and the PUCT

COMPETE Coalition

CONTACT: Meg Little, +1-202-292-6975, for COMPETE Coalition

Web Site: http://www.competecoalition.com/