In 1996, the Public Service Commission issued Opinion No. 96-12. This order for "de-regulation" called for the transition to a wholesale electricity market structure which, among other results, directed traditional utilities to divest themselves of generation and created a wholesale electricity market coordinated by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). The price of electricity would no longer be determined by the cost of generating it, but by a market-based system. The goal was that electricity prices would be controlled by rigorous retail competition, promoting lower prices, efficiency and new generation. It is unclear whether this has been achieved.

The NYISO is a not-for-profit corporation, approved and overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that began operating in 1999 to administer the state's wholesale electricity markets. This hearing will examine the policies and practices of the NYISO related to the market clearing price on the electric commodity cost to consumers.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committees would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements. In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committees' interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

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Persons wishing to present testimony at this public hearing on New York Independent System Operator's Wholesale Electricity Pricing are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to: