Northeast Energy
and Commerce Association
Contact NECA
By Phone:
(781) 449-5959
Or Online:
www.necanews.org
NECA Welcomes its Newest Members:
| Ansar Energy, LLC |
| Aon Risk Services of Massachusetts, Inc. |
| Beacon Power Corporation |
| Craig Macauley |
| Durand & Anastas Environmental Strategies, Inc. |
| Filomeno & Company, P.C. |
| Gloria Spire Solar, LLC |
| Iridium Clean Energy LLC |
| Melissa Whitten |
| Power Advisory LLC |
| Quebec Government Office |
| Repsol |
| Seguin Capital LLC |
| Sigma Consultants, Inc. |
| Woodard & Curran |
In this installment:
| NECA Announces the 2009 Board of Directors |
| Calendar of Events |
| Power Markets Conference |
| Renewable Energy Conference |
| NECA Giving Back |
| NECANews Website |
NECA News Editor:
Marla F. Simon
Letter from the President
Dear Members,
As 2009 begins, it is a natural time for taking stock of the past year and looking toward opportunities for the new year. I think few would have
anticipated a year ago all the change in our industry and our economy that has occurred
during the latter half of 2008. Even with all the challenges in our industry, and in the
capital markets and economy, I am pleased and proud to report that it has been another
great year for NECA. Our membership has continued to grow and thrive, with 20 new members
in 2008. During this year, we have excelled at providing the strong, insightful programming
that our members expect from us. And we have moved into new territory as an organization
by forming a Charitable Contribution Committee and making our first annual contribution
of $10,000 to Citizens Energy this year. With a newly elected Board of Directors in place
and ready to guide this organization, I am confident that 2009 will be another fantastic
year for NECA.
The industry we represent is currently being challenged by the unprecedented turmoil in the capital markets and the economy. As we always do, NECA continues to be a leading regional voice for education, discussion and debate on these unfolding and critical issues. We were honored to have excellent dinner speakers to frame a myriad of industry issues for us during the fall of 2008 including FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer in September; Frank Magnotti, President and Chief Operating Officer for Alternative Energy Resources Group in October; and Vamsi Chadalavada, Chief Operating Officer from the ISO New England in November. In addition to the wonderful dinner speakers, we also hosted two of our annual conferences last fall - the Fuels Conference on September 24th and the Power Markets Conference on October 30th. As the new year begins, NECA has begun working with Connecticut Power and Energy Society on the programming for our 16th Annual Conference which will be held May 18-19th in Mystic, Connecticut.
NECA's role in framing and forwarding these critical industry debates occurred this year in a variety of other forums as well. Our six NECA committees continue to provide a remarkable depth of information and analysis in each report they provide to our Board and members. Besides providing excellent reports and hosting monthly meetings, our Finance, Investment & Risk Management Committee is planning to host a series of monthly conference calls in 2009 to discuss financing, investment and risk management best practices and resources available to support the development of competitive energy markets, and our Regulatory and Legislative Committee is planning a Lunch & Learn for early this year. I am also pleased to announce the formation of a new committee for 2009, the Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Committee.
Looking ahead, I see an impressive and exciting agenda for 2009. Our Renewable Energy Committee is already hard at work planning for our annual Renewables Energy Conference scheduled for March 5th. This month, John C. S. Anderson, the Senior Managing Director and Head of Power & Project Finance for John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. gave an informative talk regarding energy finance in challenging times. And of course, the planning is already underway for our 16th annual conference with CPES scheduled for May 18th and 19th at the Mystic Marriot in Connecticut.
Thank you for all your support of NECA, and its many activities. As 2009 gets underway, I would like to extend wishes for a Happy New Year and a successful 2009 to you and your families. I hope to see you soon at one of our many upcoming events.
Warm Wishes,
Sandi M. Hennequin
President
Last summer, during NECA's annual strategy session, the Board decided to create a Charitable
Contributions Committee to examine short-term and long-term opportunities to partner with the
community to share some of our organization's financial success. The Committee was charged with
evaluating a variety of options for NECA's first annual charitable contribution and reporting a
recommendation back to the Board. After lengthy discussion and in recognition of the challenging
economic climate, we decided to recognize Joe Kennedy and Citizens Energy for their long
history of providing low-cost home heating oil to struggling families during tough winter
months. We were pleased to have the opportunity to present our check for $10,000 to Joe Kennedy
personally at NECA's December 3 Holiday Networking Event. The Charitable Contributions Committee
will continue discussing potential annual charitable contributions to other worthy recipients
in the future.
