A statement of “Vision”, “Mission”, and “FERC Values,”emblazoned in red, white and blue on entrance and hallway postersand on laminated wallet-sized cards distributed to every employeeis the first tangible result of “FERC First,” the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission’s marathon restructuring project.

The statement offers a new twist, putting “Promoting CompetitiveMarkets” atop its visionary list, ahead of “Protecting Customers”,”Respecting the Environment”, and “Serving and Safeguarding thePublic.” And in the list of FERC “Values,” employees (“People areour most valued asset. We provide the support needed for allemployees to excel.”) come first and public service (“Our ultimateobjective is to provide valued services to the public.”) last. ACommission spokesman has explained that the listing is not aranking according to importance. Rather, the last statementrepresents a summing up and is the idea that people will carry awaywith them.

Included in the statement are all the traditional mom and applepie items such as “Integrity -We maintain the highest level ofprofessionalism and an environment of fairness, trust, respect andhonesty,” and “Diversity – We value diversity in people and ideas.”

In the latest FERC Insider newsletter circulated to employeesChairman James J. Hoecker explains the Commission is nearing theend of the first phase of the restructuring project, that ofstudying Commission procedures in depth and making “a substantialfirst cut at where FERC goes from here – organizationally,culturally, procedurally and even policy-wise.” This processconcludes May 29 and results should be announced in June, Hoeckersaid.

Hoecker pointed out “this is not back-of-the-envelopereengineering.” It is “an empirical data-gathering and analyticalexercise of the first order,” necessitated by changes in theindustries FERC regulates. This translates into “a shift in ourfocus to market power analysis” and “a greater need to understandand monitor developments in all energy markets, competitive andnoncompetitive.”

The Commission must “become part of the same customer service,high-tech information, human-benefit culture into which regulatedcompanies are swiftly being drawn,” the chairman said. He estimatedrecommendations emerging from FERC First could take anywhere from amonth to three years to implement.

The Commission has been working on Ferc First since February andis paying Arthur Andersen Consulting $716,000 for aiding andabetting. In addition a number of senior employees and departmentheads have been devoting almost full time to the project, which hascaused some grumbling in the ranks about the workload and delays inregular business. (Possibly they need to study their laminated red,white and blue wallet-sized cards more.)

In its May 17th issue a columnist in The Washington Post SundayMagazine section described FERC First as “your tax dollars atwork….That’s why you study things and hire consultants. Youalways need someone to take your watch and tell you what time itis.”

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