FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Andrew Melnykovych
502-564-3940 or 502-330-5981 (cell)
Rusty Cheuvront 502-564-2611 

KENTUCKY GOV. PAUL PATTON TO OPEN CONFERENCE ON ELECTRIC MARKET REDESIGN
Keynote Address, Press Conference Set for Wednesday, October 9

FRANKFORT - Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton will deliver the opening address at a conference he convened to discuss the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) controversial proposed rulemaking to redesign the national electric transmission market. 

The conference - Standard Market Design: A National Discussion With Energy Policy Decision Makers - begins with a luncheon at noon on Wednesday, October 9, and ends at noon Thursday, October 10. The conference is being held at the Seelbach Hilton Hotel in Louisville. 

Gov. Patton will hold a press conference to discuss the goals of the conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9, at the Seelbach Hilton. A second press conference will be held at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, to discuss the outcome of the discussions on the FERC proposal. 

The FERC proposal, known as Standard Market Design, is intended to create a power grid operated under uniform national rules by regional entities. It would reduce the authority of states to regulate their electric transmission systems and would encroach upon state’s authority to regulate generators. 

FERC Chairman Pat Wood is one of many national energy policy leaders who will attend the conference. Wood will speak Wednesday evening. 

“The fact that more than 250 people from across the nation are coming to this conference speaks to the importance of the FERC proposal and to the amount of interest it has generated,” Gov. Patton said. “We expect that Chairman Wood will leave Louisville with a greater appreciation of the concerns that Kentucky and other states have about this plan.” 

The conference will include presentations on key aspects of the Standard Market Design proposal. Most of Thursday’s session will be devoted to discussions of how the FERC plan would affect various regions of the country and alternative solutions. 

“Changing our nation’s electricity markets must not be a one-size-fits-all undertaking,” Gov. Patton said. “I hope this conference, which will draw industry and state leaders from across the country, will help produce an end result that recognizes the regional differences in those markets.” 

More information on the conference is available on the Kentucky Energy Policy Advisory Board Web site at: http://www.psc.state.ky.us/kepab/ A complete conference agenda may be viewed at: http://www.psc.state.ky.us/agencies/kepab/training/100902agenda.pdf.

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