Interagency Task Force on Competition in Electric Energy Markets Requests Public Comments Concerning Study Mandated in Energy Policy Act

Interagency Task Force on Competition in Electric Energy Markets Requests Public Comments Concerning Study Mandated in Energy Policy Act

An interagency task force requests comments from the public pertinent to a study of competition in wholesale and retail electric energy markets required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The task force, comprised of representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy , the Department of Justice, and the Department of Agriculture, is to deliver its report to Congress in August 2006.

A notice from the task force, requesting public comments, will appear in the Federal Register on or about October 19, 2005. The notice, which can be found as a link to this press release on the FTC’s Web site, invites interested parties to respond to questions pertaining to participation in wholesale electricity markets, generation ownership, generation adequacy, transmission investment and regulation, and the transparency and availability of information concerning wholesale electricity markets. The notice also invites responses to questions concerning experiences with retail choice, retail service providers, demand-side participation, and the impacts of changing fuel prices on retail markets.

The task force will draw upon these responses to prepare a report that will analyze and report to Congress on the critical elements for effective wholesale and retail competition, the status of each element, impediments to realizing each element, and suggestions for overcoming these impediments.

The members of the task force are:

• Michael Bardee, Associate General Counsel, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• J. Bruce McDonald, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Karen Larsen, Office of Assistant Administrator, Electric Programs, Rural Utilities
  Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• David Meyer, Deputy Director, Division of Permitting, Siting, and Analysis, Office of
  Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy
• Michael Wroblewski, Assistant General Counsel for Policy Studies, Federal Trade
  Commission

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.