THE CASE FOR A NATIONAL ELECTRIC GRID

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Washington, D.C.

Electricity, not oil, is the heart of the U.S. energy economy. Power plants consume as much raw energy as oil supplies to all cars, trucks, planes, homes, factories, offices, and chemical plants, and deliver much more useful power because they process the fuel much more efficiently. We generate electricity almost entirely with fuels other than oil and electricity is steadily displacing oil at the far end of the plug. Building out a high-voltage backbone grid to span the continent will lower the price of electricity and accelerate the electrification of major sectors of our economy still powered by oil.

CONFERENCE VIDEO

IN THE PRESS
Upgrading the US Electric Grid, The Oil Drum, 1-9-09
Transmission poses obstacle to wind power, Des Moines Register, 12-13-08
New National Transmission Grid Needed, But Capital Will Be Scarce, Experts Suggest, Lynn Garner, BNA Daily Report for Executives, 10-15-08 (subscription required)
High-Voltage Interstate Transmission Gaining Support, But Major Hurdles Remain, Energy Washington Week, 10-16-08
The U.S. needs a new electrical grid, Instapundit, 10-15-08
Political Momentum Grows For US National Transmission Grid, Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires, 10-14-08
Concept of nationwide transmission grid with FERC siting role gains support , Kathleen Hart, SNL Daily, 10-14-08
A Different Kind of U.S. Power, U.S. News & World Report, 10-15-08
A New Superpower Electricity Grid Examiner Editorial, Washington Examiner, 10-15-08 (This article also appeared in the San Francisco Examiner, 10-15-08)
National U.S. Power-Grid Upgrade Would Cut Oil Use, Tina Seeley, Bloomberg News, 10-14-08
Federal siting authority crucial to new transmission grid: panel, Jason Fordney, Platts, 10-14-08
Think Tank Report Calls For National 'Backbone' Electric Grid, Energy Washington, 10-14-08

TELEVISION
The Case for a National Electric Grid on E&E TV
The Case for a National Electric Grid On Clean Skies TV
Governor George Pataki on CNBC

8:30-9:30 AM

9:00 AM–9:10 AM

Registration

Introductory Remarks
HOWARD HUSOCK, Vice President, Policy Research, Manhattan Institute

9:10 AM–9:50 AM

Report Presentation
PETER W. HUBER, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute; Author, The Bottomless Well
THE MILLION-VOLT ANSWER TO OIL

9:50 AM–11:00 AM

Panel Discussion
CREATING AN EFFICIENT NATIONAL ELECTRIC GRID: POTENTIAL AND CHALLENGES

ASHLEY BROWN, Executive Director, Harvard Electricity Policy Group,
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
NICK BROWN, President and Chief Executive Officer, Southwest Power Pool
ASHOK GUPTA, Air and Energy Program Director, Natural Resources Defense Council
PHILIP MOELLER, Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Moderator: STEVEN F. HAYWARD, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

11:00 AM-12:00 PM

Keynote Address
THE HONORABLE GEORGE E. PATAKI

Introduction: LAWRENCE MONE, President, Manhattan Institute