Earlier this year, Commissioner Philip Moeller requested comments on a set of questions regarding the interdependence between the gas and electric industries. Both industries provide services that are critical to the health and safety of the nation and the interdependence of these industries merits careful attention. After receiving numerous comments from both industries, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) issued a notice scheduling a series of regional technical conferences on the issue of gas-electric coordination. The first conference will be held on August 6, 2012 in St. Louis, MO at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, 1 South Broadway, St. Louis, MO, 63102. Based on the agenda, it will be an informative day. Here are just a few of the questions the roundtable participants from both industries will discuss:

• What reforms, if any, need to be made to the organized electric markets’ rules to provide for rate recovery for any necessary gas infrastructure expansion?
• How does a gas-fired generator balance real-time electric market dispatch and compensation with pipeline scheduling, dispatch and balancing requirements? Is there a need for modifications to either electric market or pipeline requirements in these areas?
• Should natural gas and electric market schedules be harmonized on a national level? Are more targeted or region-specific solutions available? Recognizing that some pipelines offer additional nomination opportunities beyond the current standards, could regional solutions offer greater efficiency building upon the specific extra-flexible pipeline services available within a region?

In the event you can’t make the conference in St. Louis, there will be four others held throughout the month. Each conference will begin at 9:00 AM and end at approximately 5:30 PM. The dress code for the conferences will be business casual. Although free of charge and open to the public, advance registration is strongly encouraged.