The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduledto hold an oversight hearing Thursday into the price spikes in theMidwest electricity market last June. A key witness will be FERCChairman James Hoecker, who is expected to disclose “some, if notall, of [FERC staff’s] analysis” of the events that lead up tounprecedented power prices.

Other witnesses will be Jolynn Barry Butler, a member of theOhio Public Utility Commission and president of the NationalAssociation of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Susan Tomasky,senior vice president and general counsel of American ElectricPower; James Turner, vice president of Cinergy Services; StevenKean, senior vice president of government affairs for Enron Corp.;and Mark Millett, vice president of Steel Dynamics Inc.

Deputy Energy Secretary Elizabeth Moler, who is expected toleave the department by late October, was scheduled to testify, butshe recused herself yesterday. “It’s likely she will get a job inthe private sector doing energy-related matters, and I think shedoesn’t want the perceived conflict of interest,” said DerekJumper, a spokesman for the committee. He noted the panel wastrying to get another Department of Energy (DOE) official toreplace Moler at the hearing, but he wasn’t sure that this could bedone on short notice.

Separately, Jumper said the Senate Energy Committee held anomination hearing last week for T.J. Glauthier, who has beenpicked by the White House to succeed Moler at DOE. Glauthier,currently natural resources director at the Office of Managementand Budget, “was grilled by the committee pretty well,” he noted.”He has a very definite political agenda. He’s had a hand inrecommending vetoes for numerous, dozens of bills out of ourcommittee alone. A lot are Alaska-specific, and this frustrated[Chairman Frank Murkowski] considerably. Also Sen. [Pete] Domenicihad some problems with his budget scoring…”

Jumper said the committee could take up Glauthier’s nominationat its business meeting as early as this week. If it is voted outof committee, his nomination would be forwarded to the full Senatefor a vote.

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