MINUTES
SENATE INTERIM COMMITTEE ON ELECTRIC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING
Thursday, May 28, 1998
9:30 am
Victoria, Texas
*****
Pursuant to a notice posted in accordance with Senate Rule
11.11, a public hearing of the Senate Interim Committee on
Electric Utility Restructuring was held on Thursday, May 28,
1998 at the Johnson Symposium Center, Victoria College, in
Victoria, Texas.
*****
MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT:
Senator David Sibley, Chairman None
Senator Kenneth Armbrister
Senator Gonzalo Barrientos
Senator Teel Bivins
Senator David Cain
Senator Troy Fraser
Senator Jane Nelson
*****
The Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:40 am. There
being a quorum present, the following business was transacted.
Chairman Sibley advised that the Committee would focus on
stranded costs at this meeting, and thanked Senator Armbrister
for hosting the Committee in Victoria. Senator Armbrister
welcomed the members to Victoria and expressed his
appreciation to Dr. Jimmy Goodson, President of Victoria
College, and Dr. Marylynn Fletcher, Auditoriums Manager, for
making it possible for the Committee to meet at Victoria
College.
Chairman Sibley called the first invited witness, Eric Hirst
of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to
speak to the members concerning stranded costs. Following Mr.
Hirst's testimony and response to members' questions, the
Chairman called the next invited witness, Pat Wood, Chairman
of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, to discuss the 1998
update report on Potentially Strandable Investment (ECOM).
At 12:00 Noon, upon completion of Chairman Wood's testimony
and response to Committee members' questions, Chairman Sibley
recessed the hearing for thirty minutes.
At 12:45 p.m. the Committee reconvened, and the Chairman
called the next invited witnesses, Steve Schaeffer and Marc
Moseley, representing the Association of Electric Utilities of
Texas, to testify and respond to members' questions.
Chairman Sibley advised that some of the Committee members
would be leaving the hearing early and any witness unable to
remain at the hearing today would have an opportunity to
testify at a future Committee meeting. However, Senator
Armbrister would remain at this meeting to hear any witness
wishing to be heard.
Invited testimony continued with Mark Zion, representing Texas
Public Power Association.
Robert Bryant, replacing scheduled invited witness, Mike
Williams, representing the Association of Texas Electric
Cooperatives, advised that he would defer his testimony until
a future hearing.
The next invited witnesses were:
Suzi Ray McClellan, Office of Public Utility Counsel
Bob Reilley, Enron Corporation
Stephanie Kroger, Texas Coalition for Competitive
Electricity
Janee Breisemeister, Consumers Union
At 3:15 p.m. Senator Armbrister assumed the Chair and invited
testimony continued:
Mark White, Alliance for Consumer Choice of Energy Supply
Sources
Chris Albrecht, Texas Retailers Association
Invited witnesses, Joseph Kearney, representing PG&E
Corporation, and Tom "Smitty" Smith, representing Public
Citizen's Texas office, were unable to remain at the hearing
until called. Mr. Kearney submitted written testimony.
Following the invited witnesses' testimony and response to
members' questions, the Chairman called for public testimony.
James A. Wingo, rancher, representing himself, Sweet Home,
Texas, testified.
The following public witnesses were unable to remain at the
hearing until called:
Bob Bolen, representing T. U. Shareholders Alliance, Fort
Worth, Texas
Chip Dence, representing Victoria Association of
Builders, Victoria, Texas
Leroy Wieting, Wieting Consulting, representing himself,
Portland, Texas, registered but did not wish to testify.
There being no further business, at 4:00 pm Senator Armbrister
moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of
the Chairman. Without objection, it was so ordered.
_________________________
Senator David Sibley, Chairman
_________________________
Barbara Henderson, Clerk