White Plains, NY: The electric industry in the United States is being transformed as policy makers in increasing numbers turn to market forces, and away from comprehensive regulation, as a means of affording consumers the benefits of lower prices and an enhanced array of service options. However, recent developments in the states furthest along with restructuring have given pause. Experts from industry, government, and representatives of environmental and consumer advocacy groups, will gather at Pace Law School's campus in White Plains to examine this issue during a one-day symposium on Friday, November 10. (Photographs are available to the media via e-mail upon request.)

The symposium will run from 9:00a.m. until 4:00 p.m. A registration fee of $25 covers the day's events, including meals. For registration information, please contact Delores Vohnout by phone at (914) 422-4227.

The Symposium, "Electricity Restructuring at a Crossroads: Consumer and Environmental Implications" is sponsored by the Pace Environmental Law Review, the Pace Energy Project, and the Tellus Institute. According to the Pace Energy Project, a national research and advocacy organization and a leader in utility reform, the shift from regulation to markets in the electric industry, and its consumer and environmental impact, raise a host of legal and policy issues. The Energy Project has identified a number of negative trends since deregulation: prices this past summer soared; competition, especially for those serving the residential market, has been anemic; reliability has suffered; and a deregulated supply market presents new environmental challenges. The Symposium will address the following issues:

• What are the prerequisites for competitive supply markets and how are they advanced?
• Are there market failures that harm economic growth, human health, and the environment?
• Do these market failures warrant regulatory intervention? If so, can these corrective environmental and consumer policies be designed to reinforce stated market goals of efficiency, choice, and innovation?
• Are these policies most effectively implemented at the state or federal levels?

The Symposium will bring together recognized legal practitioners, expert consultants, and current and former regulators to initiate a dialogue on the current state of the electric industry and on what is required to assure that the industry is serving the public interest. Expert presentations will provide attendees with tools for understanding market dynamics and for addressing policy concerns.

Who Should Attend

Anyone with a stake in the new electric industry: market participants, consumer and environmental advocates, consumers, regulatory personnel, and the legal community serving these constituencies.