Described as the “premiere utility event in DC,” thousands of utility representatives, regulators including Oklahoma’s three Corporation Commissioners and a flood of lobbyists will be in the nation’s capitol in the coming week.
It is the annual Winter policy summit of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and it will be held Sunday, February 25 through February 28 at the Westin Washington Downtown. It will provide an opportunity for the Biden administration to discuss its targeted rules and programs and also attract eager lobbyists from various related industries.
Corporation Commissioners Todd Hiett, Bob Anthony and Kim David will be in attendance.
A Monday morning speaker will be Robert Bryce, author, journalist, podcastere and film producer who will discuss renewables, hydrocarbons and the future of global energy and power.
Other discussions will focus on repurposing retired power plant sites, keeping track of clean energy, and EPA rules and reliability. West Virginia Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin will be a Tuesday morning speaker along with Willie Phillips, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
A Tuesday afternoon session will include a dialogue with U.S. Energy Deputy Secretary David Turk who plans to discuss pathways to decarbonization.
He was the first Biden administration officials earlier in the month to publicly defend the President’s controversial freeze of LNG permits, telling a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Sen. Joe Manchin, ““We need to look at how much we’ve already authorized, how much we’re already in the process of authorizing, and compare that to what our allies absolutely need.”