UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

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1 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Complainant, v. Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services Into Markets Operated by the California Independent System Operator Corporation and the California Power Exchange, Respondents. Docket No. EL CALIFORNIA PARTIES NOTICE CONTESTING THE PROTECTED STATUS OF CERTAIN MATERIALS PROVIDED IN THE COURSE OF DISCOVERY To: All Respondents Pursuant to the Protective Order adopted on August 3, 2010, by the Honorable H. Peter Young, the then-current Presiding Judge in this proceeding, 1 notice is hereby given to all Respondents that the California Parties 2 contest the protected status of certain materials submitted by Respondents in the course of the discovery process in EL These materials are identified in Attachment A ( the designated protected materials. 3 1 Order Adopting Protective Order, August 3, 2010, adopting Order initially adopted in Docket Nos. EL and EL ; Order of the Chief Judge Adopting Protective Order, August 7, 2001, P 11 ( Protective Order, and later adopted at 103 FERC 63,059 at 65,182 ( The People of the State of California ex rel. Kamala D. Harris, the Public Utilities Commission of California, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Southern California Edison Company 3 See Attachment A of the files for which the California Parties seek to lift the protected status.

2 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM I. SUMMARY The Protective Order should be lifted for all the designated protected materials because public disclosure of material information relating to the causes of the California Energy Crisis is in the public interest, is consistent with previous decisions of the Commission and the Presiding Judge in this case 4 and in related California energy crisis proceedings. Given the passage of time since the year 2000, public release of the designated protected materials will have no adverse impact on any party s competitive position. II. PUBLIC INTEREST The public interest requires that all evidence in this proceeding concerning the manipulation of the California markets be open to public review. California s citizens and the public at large have a right to know the truth about what caused the California Energy Crisis. Umbrella protective orders of the type in place in this proceeding were originally designed to facilitate discovery during the designated discovery period, by avoiding disputes over the release of alleged commercially-sensitive information. The Protective Order has fulfilled that function, and there exists no further justification for keeping these relevant and probative materials hidden from the public, since these materials bear on the issues currently being litigated before Presiding Judge Baten in EL An examination of the designated protected materials reveals that there is in fact no reason any of the material deserves protection from public disclosure. The designated 2

3 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM protected materials consist of audio files reflecting conversations by traders from the Summer of While these documents have been designated as protected, the California Parties are unaware of any reason that would support such a designation. If the audio file contains any commercial information, the details of the transaction being discussed are almost twelve years old. Further, all transaction data related to sales into the ISO and PX markets during the Summer of 2000 have already been made public. Under these circumstances, it is not proper to keep any of the designated protected materials hidden from public view. III. THE COMMISSION HAS RELEASED SIMILAR INFORMATION IN THE PAST Compelling precedent supports the California Parties position that such information should be made public. First, the Commission long ago ordered public disclosure of all of the testimony and exhibits filed in the Hundred Days of Discovery phase of this proceeding, which involved the same type of information at issue here. 5 In response to a motion filed by the California Parties on March 3, 2003, 6 the Commission ordered the public release of all of the filed testimony and exhibits related to the California Energy Crisis, finding that the public interest demanded it: 4 See, e.g., April 11, 2012 Hearing Transcript at 471:9-486:3. 5 San Diego Gas & Elec. Co. v. Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services, 102 FERC 61,311 (2003 ( Data Release Order. 6 California Parties Motion to Publicly Disclose All Exhibits Filed In the 100 Day Proceeding, Docket No. EL00-95 (March 3,

4 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM [T]he public s interest in reviewing and understanding the information that formed the basis for the Commission s decisions and reasons in the affected dockets represents an extraordinary set of circumstances that outweighs the alleged concerns about withholding competitively sensitive information. 7 Additionally, in the instant proceeding, the protected status of all pre-filed testimony and exhibits has been lifted and all materials are now public. 8 There is no basis for treating the designated protected material here any differently. To the extent any Respondent could even offer a credible argument today that public disclosure of such twelve-year old information would somehow cause competitive harm, the Commission already decided in 2003 that the public interest in releasing such information outweighs any competitive harm. 9 This is consistent with the Commission s recent finding in response to a recent Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA request filed by the California Attorney General 10 regarding the release of transaction data that had previously been protected under a highly restrictive Staff only protective order. In that matter, the Commission released the information, notwithstanding objection from sellers, 11 finding that the passage of time and evolution of the energy markets rendered the transaction data of little value to the objecting submitters competitors The Commission analyzes the disclosure of documents under a protective order in the same way it does under FOIA. San Diego Gas & Elec. Co. v. Sellers of Energy and Ancillary Services, 102 FERC 61,311 at P 10 (2003 ( Data Release Order. 8 See, e.g., April 11, 2012 Hearing Transcript at 471:9-486:3. 9 Id. 10 Commission FOIA Response No. FY11-25, June 8, , for example, claimed that the release of the information would divulge: 4

5 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM The same reasoning applies here and compels the lifting of the Protective Order with respect to the designated protected materials. IV. RESPONSE PERIOD AND PROCEDURE Pursuant to Paragraph 11 of the Protective Order, protection of the designated protected materials shall cease five (5 business days from the service of this notice unless the party that designated the materials to be protected files a motion with the presiding administrative law judge, together with supporting affidavits, within that time period, demonstrating why the materials should continue to be protected. FOR THE CALIFORNIA PARTIES: /s/ Richard L. Roberts Richard L. Roberts Jane I. Ryan A. Hunter Hodges Steptoe & Johnson LLP 1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC Russell Swartz J. Eric Isken Russell Archer Southern California Edison Company 2244 Walnut Grove Avenue Rosemead, CA /s/ Stan Berman Stan Berman Eric Todderud Sidley Austin LLP 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4200 Seattle, WA Mark D. Patrizio Joshua Levenberg Pacific Gas and Electric Company 77 Beale Street, B30A Post Office Box 7442 San Francisco, CA s trading, business and pricing strategies for the marketing of custom electric-power products throughout the Pacific Northwest, one of s primary marketing regions. And although isolated historical transaction data can understandably be considered to become less commercially sensitive over time, s overall portfolio development, its unique physical-delivery capabilities and commitments, and its ability to tailor custom products... continue to constitute valuable and commercially sensitive information at the present time. Id. at p Response to Appeal FOIA No. FY11-25 p. 6 (June 8,

6 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM Attorneys for Southern California Edison Company Attorneys for Pacific Gas and Electric Company /s/ Frank Lindh Frank Lindh Sarah R. Thomas Public Utilities Commission of the State of California 505 Van Ness Ave., Room 4300 San Francisco, CA Attorneys for the Public Utilities Commission of the State of California /s/ David M. Gustafson Kamala D. Harris Attorney General of the State of California Rochelle East Chief Deputy Attorney General Mark Breckler Chief Assistant Attorney General 1300 I Street, Suite 125 Sacramento, CA David M. Gustafson Deputy Attorney General 1515 Clay Street, 20 th Floor Oakland, CA /s/ Kevin J. McKeon Kevin J. McKeon Craig R. Burgraff Judith Cassel Hawke McKeon & Sniscak LLP 100 North Tenth Street, P.O. Box 1778 Harrisburg, PA Attorneys for the People of the State of California ex rel. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General May 4,

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15 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that I have this day served an electronic copy of the foregoing document upon each person designated on the ListServs established in Docket No. EL Dated at Harrisburg, PA this 5 th day of April /s/ Kevin J. McKeon Kevin J. McKeon HAWKE MCKEON & SNISCAK LLP 100 North Tenth Street P.O. Box 1778 Harrisburg, PA Tel: (

16 FERC PDF (Unofficial 5/4/2012 4:51:04 PM Document Content(s Letter to Lift Protective Order in EL00-95.PDF