Agenda - Tuesday, October 15
7:00 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Opening Remarks & Recognition of Co-Chairs
GCPA President's Welcome Mark Walker, Assistant General Counsel, Xcel Energy
Recognition of Co-Chairs Kim Casey, Executive Director, GCPA
Conference Introduction J.P. Urban, Executive Director, PUCT
Erika Akpan, Vice President Policy & Govt. Relations, AECT
8:15 a.m. A Conversation with Vicki Hollub
A Conversation with Vicki Hollub, President & CEO, Occidental
Facilitated by Katie Coleman, Partner, Thompson & Knight
8:45 a.m. Session I - 20 Years Later: A Look Back at Senate Bill 7
Two decades ago, a piece of landmark legislation ushered in an era of competition, transforming the electric industry in Texas and unleashing massive potential for electricity customers and providers alike. This panel will reflect on the critical elements of the bill, the key policy decisions that were made in order to implement it, and the new reality it created in America’s flagship state for electricity competition.
Session Moderator: Julie Parsley, CEO, Pedernales Electric Cooperative
Panelists:
John Fainter, Former President, Association of Electric Companies of Texas (AECT)
Troy Fraser, Former Member, Texas Senate
Steve Wolens, Former Member, Texas House of Representatives
9:30 a.m. Networking Break
10:00 a.m. Session II - Is Restructuring Working In ERCOT?
The Texas competitive energy-only market is a truly unique feature in the landscape of American power delivery. Harnessing the ability of competition to drive innovation and encourage affordability while still ensuring reliability has placed the Lone Star State in its own category. This panel will analyze the legal and regulatory decisions that led to deregulation in Texas, offering insights on the strengths of the competitive approach, shortcomings worthy of attention and opportunities to simultaneously level and elevate the playing field.
Session Moderator: Brad Jones, Former NYISO CEO, Retired
Panelists:
Bill Berg, Vice President of Wholesale Market Development, Exelon
Scott Hudson, President, TXU Energy; Sr. Vice President, Retail Operations, Vistra Energy
Clifton Karnei, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Brazos Electric Cooperative
Kenny Mercado, Chief Integration Officer, CenterPoint Energy
Eric Schubert, Director, U.S. Regulatory Affairs, BP Energy
11:00 a.m. Session III - Review of Summer 2019
With the persistence of low reserve margins in ERCOT, stakeholders reflect on how well we met the demands of yet another Texas summer. This panel will guide us through the regulatory policy decisions put in place in advance of the summer peak season, the extensive preparations ERCOT made under PUC oversight, and lessons learned for the future.
Session Moderator: Connie Corona, Chief Program Officer, Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
Panelists:
Sam Harper, Regional Energy Manager, Gerdau
Clif Lange, Manager, Wholesale Marketing/QSE, South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC)
Sandy Morris, Sr. Manager, Govt. & Regulatory Affairs, Direct Energy
Dan Woodfin, Sr. Director, System Operations, ERCOT
12:00 p.m. Luncheon
1:30 p.m. Keynote Address
Brian Davis, Vice President, Energy Solutions, Shell International
2:00 p.m. Session IV - CEO Panel: A Conversation with Top Producers/Retailers in Texas
CEOs from three of Texas’ largest producers and retailers of electricity join us to share their perspective on the market in ERCOT and beyond. Don’t miss this top-level conversation featuring NRG’s Mauricio Gutierrez, Vistra’s Curt Morgan and Calpine’s Thad Hill as they discuss the latest legislative and policy issues that are shaping the future of competitive electric markets in Texas.
Session Moderator: J.P. Urban, Executive Director, Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
Panelists:
Mauricio Gutierrez, President & CEO, NRG Energy
Thad Hill, President & CEO, Calpine Corporation
Curt Morgan, President & CEO, Vistra Energy
3:00 p.m. Networking Break
3:30 p.m. GCPA Young Professionals Award
3:45 p.m. Keynote Address
DeAnn T. Walker, Chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas
4:15 p.m. Session V: The Future of ERCOT: Views from the Investors
This panel will examine the policy decisions and other drivers that are impacting investment in ERCOT, providing an up-to-date look at where investor dollars are flowing and what projects and technologies are being funded. As ERCOT continues to experience low reserves, what are investors looking for, and what should the market expect? As renewables continue their expansion, will modifications to the ORDC and implementation of Real Time Co-Optimization be enough to attract the development necessary to sustain reliability? To what extent have recent market design changes played a role in project evaluations? Should we expect Investors
to issue debt or make equity contributions for new capacity? After Summer 2019, what has changed with regard to credit support, debt/refinancing or equity evaluations?
Session Moderator: Barbara Clemenhagen, VP Market Intelligence, Customized Energy Solutions
Panelists:
Eddy Daniels, Partner, Haynes & Boone
Denise Persau Tait, President, Starwood Infrastructure Finance at Starwood Property Trust
Brandon Wax, Executive Director, JP Morgan
5:15 p.m. Adjourn for the Day
5:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception
Wednesday, October 16
7:30 a.m. Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:15 a.m. Keynote Address
Evan Smith, CEO, Texas Tribune
8:45 a.m. Session VI - The Changing Retail Landscape
As companies compete to win the business of electricity customers across the ERCOT grid, they must contend with factors ranging from increasingly diversified offerings to shrinking profit margins. As a wave of consolidation sweeps through their ranks, REPs are under increasing pressure to provide more than just reliable, affordable power to an increasingly demanding customer base.
Session Moderator: Donna Nelson, Former Chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT)
Panelists:
Bruce Chung, Sr. Vice President, Strategy, Mergers & Acquisitions, NRG Energy
Chris Hendrix, CEO and Co-founder, Demand Control 2
Laura Manz, Director, Navigant
Jeff Nadalo, General Counsel, Buc-ee's
9:45 a.m. Networking Break
10:15 a.m. Session VII: Powering the Permian Basin
In the latest SARA report, ERCOT identified a few crucial factors influencing historically slender reserve margins in Texas, casting light on the rapidly increasing power demands of the booming oil and gas industry in West Texas. This panel will discuss challenges and opportunities in bringing electric delivery service to the Permian Basin, including legal and regulatory impediments to progress and ideas for sensible development of necessary infrastructure.
Session Moderator: Stephen Robertson, Executive Vice President, Permian Basin Petroleum
Panelists:
Ellen Buck, V.P., Business & Operations Services, Oncor
Johnny Carlock, Power Engineering Supervisor, Pioneer Natural Resources
Spivey Paup, Development Director, Recurrent Energy
Woody Rickerson, Vice President Grid Planning & Operations, ERCOT
11:15 a.m. Session VIII: Solar Development in Texas: Where Do We Stand?
Will solar outpace wind in generation capacity additions for the foreseeable future? ERCOT currently has a whopping 58,579 MW of solar generation interconnection additions under study. Over 7,000 MW of these potential additions have an executed interconnection agreement with targeted in-service dates between now and the end of 2021. This panel will discuss the outlook for additional utility-scale and residential solar development as well as the potential for complementary battery installations.
Session Moderator: Charlie Hemmeline, Executive Director, Texas Solar Power Association
Panelists:
Clay Butler, CEO, 7X Energy
Grace McNamara, Director, Business Development - Power Marketing, 174 Power Global
Caitlin Smith, Vice President, AB Power Advisors, LLC
12 p.m. Conference Adjourns