WGA update ,
 reporting from the WGA summer conference in Couer D'Alene.........

It was evident from the minute we got here that the governors continue to b=
e "ticked off" at FERC for not supporting their efforts on price caps and t=
hat they are feeling neglected by the Administration.  Although we had been=
 told by staff that the resolution that would be voted on today would be su=
bstantially "watered down" and not terribly controversial (in fact, we had =
seen a copy of the proposed resolution about a week ago and I would agree w=
ith that descripition), the tide turned in a meeting with the Governors the=
mselves on Sat and then again on Sunday.  By yesterday a new section and ot=
her additional language had been added to the resolution.  The most troubli=
ng to us is a section that talks about creating regional mechanisms to deci=
de regional power issues and that....."FERC should be required to defer to =
such decisions". There is also language stating that FERC intervention on e=
minent domain is "unwarrented and inappropriate".Even though we expressed o=
ur concerns to several of our staff contacts, they insisted that the langua=
ge was greatly watered down from what it could have been and that the Gover=
nors felt that they needed to assert their "states rights".  They also insi=
sted that the wording was meant to encourage cooperation and to ensure that=
 whatever work was being completed by western stakeholders was given due co=
nsideration by FERC.  I argued that defer was not the word that conveyed th=
at message correctly!  I lost. The resolution will be voted on today at noo=
n.


Yesterday FERC COmmissioner Brownell, DOE undersecretary Bob Card, JIm Conn=
aughton from the Council of Enviromental Quality (I think that's what it is=
 called) and Steve Griels, Deputy Secretary of Interior all participated in=
 the energy panel.  Governor Kempthorne announced the signing of an MOU wit=
h DOE and the WGA to cooperate on some studies and workplans, primarily on =
energy efficiences and conservation in the west (this, by the way, was nego=
tiated and drafted on Sunday late night...it appeared that Reuben Barrales =
from the White House was the broker and it was accepted on Monday morning b=
y the govs)  The bottom line on this MOU is that DOE will give some modest =
funding to WGA to do a study or two.

It is painfully clear from the discussions yesterday that this administrati=
on is going to be mired in process--the discussion on the energy panel was =
full of discussion about task forces and studies and interagency cooperatio=
n....blah blah blah


ps   as we expected Davis and Locke were not here
richard.shapiro@enron.com, d..steffes@enron.com, linda.robertson@enron.com, 