
American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) Executive Vice President Mark McCullough will kick off the half-day GenForum conference Aug. 23 in Columbus, Ohio.
McCullough, who is responsible for the management of AEP’s fossil, hydro and wind generating units, will share his thoughts on the growing role of natural gas in power generation.
PointLogic Energy President Randy Rischard will analyze what happens to fuel switching when very low natural gas prices meet very high coal stockpiles. Rischard has more than 25 years in energy industry information and analysis.
There will also be two major panel discussions during GenForum. One panel will offer regional perspectives on how gas is being used both to substitute for coal and nuclear baseload power and to help integrate intermittent energy.
The regional panel will feature Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) Director of Rates & Analysis Patrick Donlon; ISO New England (ISO NE) Director External Affairs Eric Johnson; and Midcontinent ISO (MISO) Consulting Advisor, Strategy Scott Wright.
The half-day program will be capped off by an industry panel on the economics of natural gas generation going forward. Panelists will include Apex Power Group Managing Partner Michael P. King; Burns & McDonnell Associate Thomas Graves; and Wärtsilä North America Market Development Analyst Joseph Ferrari.
The panel is expected to look at issues ranging from regulatory approval of gas pipelines to implications of the EPA Clean Power plan.
GenForum runs from roughly 8 a.m. until noon at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. GenForum is organized by GenerationHub and is a co-located event with the PennWell POWER-GEN/Natural Gas scheduled for Aug. 23 through Aug. 25 at Greater Columbus Convention Center.
http://www.energyhubforums.com/genforum/conference.html