Subject: draft Gramm-Schumer Electricity bill
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 05:36:00 -0700 (PDT)

sorry,,,your names were top on the list....but the computer didn't 
"recongize" them????  weird.
---------------------- Forwarded by Cynthia Sandherr/Corp/Enron on 04/26/2000 
01:42 PM ---------------------------

	
	From:  Cynthia Sandherr                           04/26/2000 01:33 PM

To: Joe Hillings/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Joe Hartsoe/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Sarah 
Novosel/Corp/Enron@ENRON
cc: [email-masked], [email-masked] 

Subject: draft Gramm-Schumer Electricity bill

Today, by either fax, messenger, or hand-delivery, you will receive the 37 
page draft electricity deregulation bill to be introduced next week by 
Senators Gramm (R-TX) and Schumer (D-NY).  We have until Friday, April 28th, 
3:00p.m. EST to offer our legal technical changes.  If you can return your 
comments to me (hand-written comments on the document itself are fine), I 
will communicate them directly to the Senators' offices.    

WE MUST KEEP THIS DOCUMENT COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL FOR OUR INTERNAL USE 
ONLY.  WE SHOULD NOT COMMENT TO PRESS OR OTHERS THAT WE KNOW THE DOCUMENT 
EXISTS, NOR SHOULD WE DISCUSS THAT WE ASSISTED IN ITS WRITING.  THE POLITICS 
REQUIRE THIS COURSE OF ACTION.

Next week, after the bill is introduced, I recommend we make public comment 
in support of the legislation as it continues to move the process forward 
towards bill enactment this Congress.

The bill contains a date certain of 1/1/2002; stranded cost recovery 
language; PURPA 210 repeal, the bundled FERC authority for interstate 
transmission and reliability plus the non-discrimination language we 
successfully lobbied for and about which Congressman Barton is already aware 
of Senator Gramm's support for Enron's position, PUHCA repeal, environmental 
conditionality and tax provisions for publics, coop's and nuclear 
decommissioning.  Although we successfully drafted and communicated our 
transmission language to the Senators, their attorneys have made language 
adjustments (pride of authorship) which our attorneys should confirm have not 
caused material defect.  If so, we can suggest drafting changes by this 
Friday.

All the language you have has been agreed to by both Senators.  The section 
missing, the environmental provision, is the last section the two men will 
work out this week and will be essential to final bill passage.  Their goal 
remains addressing the grandfathered coal facilities and their disagreements 
are technical in nature.  Namely:  do you disqualify pre-1971 constructed 
coal facilities at a percentage responsible for a percentage of emissions (a 
Republican approach) or do you qualify facilities which can operate ( a 
regulatory approach favored by the Democrats)?  With the Bush/Gore 
Presidential race in full swing, this issue brings ramifications and politics 
to bear at the highest level.

As a further update on this issue:  tomorrow the Senate holds a hearing on 
this issue with all four of the FERC Commissioners testifying, the 
Mid-American group and the DOE Pro-Competition Stakeholder group are meeting 
with each other to gain further consensus, plus both are meeting with NARUC's 
Chuck Grey and Chris Mele to seek consensus.  I will attend all these 
meetings for Enron and report back our continued progress.  Further, we are 
scheduling Dr. Tabors and Enron's Bob Schultz for a Congressional Hill 
briefing next week to discuss Dr. Tabors' research on the price spike as 
proof Congress must make structural changes to the interstate rules plus 
demonstrate Enron On-Line's ability to show market price inefficiency.  
Finally, we will participate in a "team drafting" exercise with MidAmerican 
on their compromise right of first refusal transmission language with Dan 
Watkiss as our representative, with others represented by Bill Sherman, Besty 
Moler and Randy Davis.  This is an effort to include the Bennett Johnston ACE 
group into the MidAmerican fold.  We did get MidAmerican to add the 
separation of market and transmission function language in the context of the 
RTO language.

Much progress continues even though the House is not in session this week.  
The month of May will provide opportunities for Enron to continue 
intensifying our legislative efforts.  To date, the strategy we at Enron laid 
out months ago is playing out with the two tracks of consensus and 
reliability crisis both receiving traction.  We just need the dominoes we 
successfully laid out the strategy for months ago to continue falling.

Please feel free to call me should you need additional information or have 
any questions.