Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

Top grid operators, a former regulator and energy executives will appear on Capitol Hill this week to shed light on the effects of complex financial trading in the nation’s energy markets.

Appearing Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy will be grid operators from California and the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, as well as the former general counsel of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The hearing will focus on whether consumers are benefiting from trade in organized power markets and whether such transactions make the markets more efficient. It will also look into if reforms are needed to safeguard against improper trading.

The hearing is the eighth in the Energy and Commerce’s ongoing “Powering America” series launched this summer to explore power markets and how electricity is generated, distributed and used.

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the subcommittee chairman, said in a statement that, while technical, the hearing will provide members a chance to learn more about trading and whether inefficiencies exist, as well as challenges when trading in organized markets. The discussion, he said, could also shed light on grid reliability.

Schedule: The hearing is Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 10:15 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.

Witnesses: Wesley Allen, CEO, Red Wolf Energy Trading LLC; Eric Hildebrandt, director of market monitoring, California Independent System Operator; Max Minzner, partner, Jenner & Block LLP, and FERC former general counsel; Noha Sidhom, CEO, TPC Energy; Vince Duane, senior vice president and general counsel, PJM Interconnection; and Chris Moser, senior vice president of operations, NRG Energy Inc.