By Debra DeHaney-Howard and Shane Robinson
December 9, 2002

More than 20 mayors and city officials from across the nation gathered together for the Mayors- Energy Meeting held November 17-19 in Santa Clara (CA). Santa Clara Mayor Judy Nadler, Co-Chair of the Energy Standing Committee, hosted the event that included presentations by a number of speakers and culminated with the development of a working draft of "An Energy Strategy for American's Cities for the 21st Century."

In her opening remarks, Nadler described the many challenges and opportunities before the mayors in building a more secure energy future. "We need to build an energy policy from the ground up, where our national policy is built upon the work and needs of our cities," said Nadler. She also stated that "sustained investments in new energy technology, smarter building codes, conservation improvements, and building rehabilitation means more dollars stay in the local economy. This translates into vitality at home, while building more independence and less demand in the future."

Nadler also cited several events as evidence of the need to build an energy policy focused on the local level: natural gas shortages and price spikes experienced by cities in the Midwest; volatility in gasoline prices in other cities; and unprecedented supply and price problems in electricity markets in Western cities. These events, she said, "have galvanized and reawakened mayors to the potential for local initiative and action on energy issues."

Echoing Nadler's comments was Fremont Mayor and Energy Standing Committee Co-Chair Gus Morrison who said, "I believe energy is an issue of the present and the future, and it is growth-driven. Our constituencies expect us to lead. So I am glad we-re here today developing an energy action plan that will lead us in the 21st Century."

Joining Mayor Nadler and fellow Energy Co-Chair Mayor Gus Morrison of Freemont were Conference Trustee Mayor Patrick Henry Hays of North Little Rock, Mayor John Powers of Spokane — Co-Chairs of the Gas and Electric Restructuring Task Force, and Conference Advisory Board Member and Chair of the Women's Caucus Mayor Shelia Young of San Leandro. The Energy Meeting was designed to ensure that the participants would have the opportunity to explore critical energy issues with energy experts, and to develop a working draft energy action plan.

FERC Commissioner Brownell Pledges Stronger Relationship with Cities

Nora Mead Brownell of the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) addressed the mayors. In her remarks, Commissioner Brownell focused on FERC's proposed rule-making on wholesale power markets. "The proposed rule would save power customers money while improving the reliability and security of the nation's electricity infrastructure," said Commissioner Brownell.

The FERC proposal, Brownell said, "seeks to create uniform rules for transmission service across the interstate grid, allowing some regional flexibility." The plan calls for the transmission grid and short-term markets to be operated by Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO's), designed to be fair and independent overseers. Commissioner Brownell also stated that the new proposal would establish procedures to monitor market operations and effectiveness and mitigate market power and manipulation — providing a level of oversight to "prevent another California-type melt-down." These kinds of measures, she said, will reduce price volatility and assign risk to the market, not customers.

On the reliability and security side, Commissioner Brownell said, "stable market rules created by the proposal would encourage investment in new generation, transmission and demand reduction." Much of this new generation, she noted, would come from efficient, clean generators — reducing the use of scarce fossil resources as well as driving down electricity prices. Similar changes in market dynamics would cause generators to locate new resources "smarter and closer" to customers, making the grid more reliable and secure, she said. Additionally, the new proposal includes provisions that would require the adoption of cyber'security standards that reduce grid vulnerability to terrorism.

Commissioner Brownell concluded her remarks by telling the group "her door is open to mayors." Saying that she recognized the importance of addressing not only state concerns, but city concerns, the Commissioner pledged to work with the mayors.

Representative Michael Honda (CA) Expects New Energy Bill to Return Early Next Year

Also part of the meeting was Representative Michael M. Honda (CA). Congressman Honda talked about where he sees the 108th Congress going on energy issues, and offered some thoughts on the role of cities in national energy policy.

Congressman Honda said that while the energy bill in the current Congress is effectively dead, the bill is certain to return early next year. "I expect that the Republican leadership will renew its push for increased energy exploration," he said, "including drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other public lands." Overall, he said, "I think we will see an energy bill that leans more towards energy production than energy conservation."

"I believe," he said, "that we are at a critical juncture in establishing our long-term energy strategy." "We have the opportunity to make important decisions that will profoundly shape the future of energy generation and consumption in the United States," Honda stated, "and we need to give serious consideration to the role that increased energy efficiency and renewable energy sources can play in regaining our nation's energy independence, keeping our growth sustainable, and reducing the pollutants that can cause global warming."

In concluding his remarks, Congressman Honda said, "one of the keys to solving our energy issues is cooperation between local, state, and federal governments, non-profit groups, industry, and the general public." "We are all consumers of energy, and so we are all part of the problem," he stated.

DOE Assistant Secretary Jodi Hanson Emphasizes Energy Infrastructure Security

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Deputy Assistant Secretary for National Security Jodi Hanson briefed the participants on DOE's energy security programs. Hanson told the group that national energy security not only depends on sufficient energy supplies to support U.S. economic growth, but also on an efficient domestic infrastructure to support all segments of the energy supply chain. Emphasizing Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's commitment to energy security, Hanson said, "We can achieve energy security by increasing the efficiency of energy consumption, enhancing the transparency and efficient operation of energy markets, and strengthening our capacity to respond to disruptions of oil and gas supplies." Concluding her remarks, Hanson noted that DOE is committed to working with cities on energy issues including energy security and energy efficiency and renewable energy. Several mayors asEnergy Experts Join with Mayors

Energy Experts Join with Mayors

Other featured experts joining with the mayors included: Art O'Donnell, Founding Editor of California Energy Markets; Laura Doll of the California Power Authority; John Thornton from the National Renewable Energy Laboratories; Mary O-Toole of ComEd; Scott Catelaz of Encorp; and Scott Bernstein of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.

Over the two-day meeting, energy experts spoke at sessions focused on four key areas — energy emergency and security plans, utility restructuring and reliability, energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy conservation, and energy trends and energy technology. In addition, Mayor John Powers of Spokane, Mayor Patrick Hays of North Little Rock and Mayor Greg Hill of Redondo Beach shared their city's "best energy practices", which ranged from energy conservation programs to smart energy management plans to innovative energy efficiency programs.

Scott Bernstein, President of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, discussed the importance of developing a place-based national energy policy that should be modeled after the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), a revolutionary piece of legislation that, among other things, required state air quality planning and transportation investment be integrated. It also provided a planning framework for developing transportation systems that serve community livability. Bernstein noted "an ISTEA-like bill addressing energy issues could reorient national energy policy from the current top-down, fuel-focused strategy to a strategy that not only takes into consideration local needs, but is in fact determined by them." Bernstein also noted that "twelve years of performance-based experience under ISTEA and TEA21 shows us that given the policy incentives, the authority aMayors Draft Energy Action Plan

Mayors Draft Energy Action Plan

At the closing session, mayors drafted a national energy strategy for the 21st century. Specific areas included in the action plan are: energy supply including generation and transmission issues and new options including solar, wind, and fuel cell developments; energy demand including conservation and energy efficiency; energy security in the aftermath of September 11; new energy technologies related to, among other technologies, real time metering and smart appliances; the role of energy in metropolitan economies and economic development; protecting consumers to ensure that they have access to affordable, clean, and reliable energy; energy and the environment and the quality of life; energy and public education as a key component of energy policy; and the role of energy in smart growth. The working draft action plan will be reviewed at the Energy Standing Committee meeting during the 71Closing the meeting, Nadler, who is term-limited and leaves office at the end of the year, told the participants that, "I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead the debate among the mayors, as the first chair of the newly created Energy Standing Committee. It has been my agenda to lay the foundation for a different energy future and to begin the work on a national energy action plan. I strongly believe that at this meeting we have made a great deal of progress in laying the foundation for a different energy future, and I know that under Gus Morrison's leadership the Energy Committee will continue to move our action plan forward, and that mayors will be recognized as outstanding leaders on energy issues."

Closing the meeting, Nadler, who is term-limited and leaves office at the end of the year, told the participants that, "I am honored to have had the opportunity to lead the debate among the mayors, as the first chair of the newly created Energy Standing Committee. It has been my agenda to lay the foundation for a different energy future and to begin the work on a national energy action plan. I strongly believe that at this meeting we have made a great deal of progress in laying the foundation for a different energy future, and I know that under Gus Morrison's leadership the Energy Committee will continue to move our action plan forward, and that mayors will be recognized as outstanding leaders on energy issues."