MINUTES ELECTRIC UTILITY RESTRUCTURING LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE Friday, November 2, 2001 9:00 a.m. Capitol Extension, Room E1.036 ***** Pursuant to a notice posted October 10, 2001, and in accordance with Senate Rule 11.18, a public hearing of the Electric Utility Restructuring Legislative Oversight Committee was held on Friday, November 2, 2001, in the Capitol Extension, Room E1.036, at Austin, Texas. ***** MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Senator David Sibley, Co-Chairman None Representative Steven Wolens, Co-Chairman Senator Teel Bivins Senator Frank Madla Senator Jane Nelson Senator John Whitmire Representative Kim Brimer Representative David Counts Representative Debra Danburg Representative Sylvester Turner ***** Co-Chairman Wolens called the meeting to order at 9:11 a.m. There being a quorum present, the following business was transacted. Senator Troy Fraser, Senator Leticia Van de Putte, and Representative Tommy Merritt were also present and participated in the meeting. Co-Chairman Wolens advised that as indicated on the posting, the hearing would be recessed for the members to go into a closed session to hear invited testimony on the security of the grid, security of water that serves generation, and security of the nuclear power plant. A list of the aforementioned witnesses had been provided in the posting. At 9:15 a.m. Co-Chairman Wolens moved that the Committee stand recessed for about one hour. The Committee reconvened at 10:52 a.m. Co-Chairman Wolens advised that while the Committee was in closed hearing, they heard testimony from witnesses listed in the posting, although some did not testify. The witnesses had been requested to prepare documents that could be distributed publicly; two had been prepared and would be made available. Co-Chairman Sibley presented his statement concerning deregulation, mentioning the promises the Legislature had made to the citizens of Texas when the electric restructuring bill was passed in 1999. He enumerated the consequences of not going forward with deregulation as scheduled, and stated his conviction that competition is going to happen on January 1, 2002. Following Co-Chairman Sibley's statement, Co-Chairman Wolens called invited witnesses to present testimony on progress of the transition to a retail market. Witnesses testifying were: Thomas Noel, President and CEO, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) William Bojorquez, Director, Settlements & Customer Service, ERCOT Sam Jones, ERCOT Shirley Whyte, Independent Third Party Testing Administrator (ITPTA) Cherie Broadrick, Manager Customer Registration, ERCOT At 12:45 p.m. the Committee recessed for a short break. The Committee reconvened at 1:00 p.m. and Ms. Broadrick's testimony continued. Suzanne Bertin, Director of Government Affairs, The New Power Company, and Dan Jones, Director of Market Policy at City Public Service in San Antonio, were also called to respond to questions by members. Upon completion of ERCOT's testimony, the following witnesses presented their testimony, and responded to members' questions: Max Yzaguirre, Chairman, Public Utility Commission of Texas Brett Perlman, Commissioner, Public Utility Commission of Texas Rebecca Klein, Commissioner, Public Utility Commission of Texas Thomas Baker, President, TXU Electric & Gas Susan Durso, General Counsel, Public Utility Commission of Texas Brian Lloyd, Director Costing & Pricing, Public Utility Commission of Texas Upon completion of testimony and response to members' questions, there was discussion about the need for another hearing. Co-Chairman Sibley stated that although he was still confident that competition would go forward on January 1, 2002, he agreed that another hearing should be held in December. There being no further business, at 3:41 p.m. Co-Chairman Wolens moved that the Committee stand recessed subject to the call of the chairmen. Without objection, it was so ordered. _________________________________ ____________________________________ Senator David Sibley, Co-Chairman Representative Steven Wolens, Co-Chairman _________________________________ Barbara Henderson, Clerk