via Electronic Filing
February 9, 2004
Honorable Magalie R. Salas
Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20426
Re: Informational Filing pursuant
to FERC Order No. 2004 Standards of Conduct
Cleco Power LLC
Docket No. TS04-_____ -000
Dear Ms. Salas:
FERC Order No. 2004
Standards of Conduct (“Order No. 2004”)
requires that within 60 days of publication of the Final Rule in the Federal
Register, each Transmission Provider is required to file with the Commission
and post on the OASIS or Internet website an informational filing that includes
a plan and schedule for implementing the standards of conduct by June 1, 2004,
and the Transmission Provider’s projected costs of complying with the standards
of conduct.
Cleco Power LLC’s
compliance plan, as set forth below, includes: (1) a plan for implementing the
Order No. 2004 Standards of Conduct by June
1, 2004; and (2) the projected costs of complying with Order No.
2004. Cleco Power LLC, a subsidiary of
Cleco Corporation, is the only Transmission Provider in the Cleco Corporation
corporate family. The capitalized terms
used herein are defined in 18 C.F.R §358.3.
I.
Implementation
In Order No.
2004, the Commission requested that each company identify whether the company
is in compliance with the order’s requirements and, if it is not in compliance,
identify the types of structural and/or organizational changes that need to be
implemented to bring the company into compliance with Order No. 2004.
On July 25, 2003, FERC issued an Order Approving
Stipulation and Consent Agreement in the proceeding of Cleco Corporation,
et. al., Docket No. IN03-1-000, 104 FERC ¶61,125. As a result of Cleco Corporation’s (“Cleco”)
compliance efforts in accordance with the Stipulation and Consent Agreement,
Cleco has already implemented most, if not all, of the requirements of Order
2004. In particular, the following have
already been implemented:
· Measures necessary to ensure
independent functioning of the Transmission Provider’s Transmission Function
employees from Energy Affiliate employees.
· All facilities, including physical
facilities (office buildings) and electronic facilities (computer systems and
data bases) shared by the Transmission Provider’s Transmission employees and
any Energy Affiliate employees have been identified to FERC and posted on
Cleco’s Internet website (www.cleco.com).
· Physical barriers with restricted
access ensure physical separation of the Transmission Provider’s Transmission
employees from Energy Affiliate employees.
· Measures, including physical and electronic
barriers, have been implemented to ensure the protection and non-disclosure of
off-OASIS transmission, customer and market information of the Transmission
Provider’s Transmission Function to Energy Affiliate employees.
· Cleco has identified to FERC as well
as the public (via website posting) all senior managers, officers and directors
shared by: (1) the Transmission Provider’s Transmission employees; and (2) the
Transmission Provider’s Marketing employees and/or the Energy Affiliate
employees.
· Cleco has identified to FERC as well
as the public (via website posting) all support employees shared by: (1) the
Transmission Provider’s Transmission employees; and (2) the Transmission
Provider’s Marketing employees and/or the Energy Affiliate employees. Support employees include, but are not limited
to, regulatory functions, risk management employees, legal, accounting, human
resources, travel and information technology.
· Cleco has named Keith J. LaBauve as
Director of Regulatory Compliance whose duties include acting as Chief
Compliance Officer with regard to compliance with Order 2004. The contact information for the Director of
Regulatory Compliance will be available to the public via Cleco’s Internet
website on or before June 1, 2004.
· Organizational charts and job
descriptions are posted on Cleco’s Internet website in compliance with Order
No. 2004.
· Cleco has distributed standards of
conduct procedures to employees and is currently conducting employee training
on Order No. 2004 as well as other compliance plan training requirements. Employees are required to execute a
certification indicating that they have received the training.
· Procedures have been implemented and
approved by FERC Staff regarding employee transfers as well as to ensure that the
transfers are reflected in the company’s organizational charts and job
descriptions within seven days of the employee transfer or change. Procedures require that such information is
posted for at least ninety days.
· Procedures have been instituted that
require no less than a three-year retention of postings of procedures,
organizational charts and job descriptions.
II. Projected Costs
Cleco Corporation’s projected costs
(many of which have already been incurred as a result of the Stipulation and
Consent Agreement) for the elements of the Compliance Plan are:
Separation of functions: $
250,000
and any changes to protect
computer systems and databases)
Information disclosure prohibitions: less
than $50,000
Posting requirements: less
than $20,000
Training: $
25,000
Director of Regulatory Compliance: $ 30,000
Please file this document as our
Informational Filing required pursuant to Order No. 2004. We trust that the information provided and
the format in which it is provided is sufficient. Should you have any questions or comments
concerning this filing, please feel free to contact us.
Respectfully
submitted,
/s/
Mark D. Pearce
Mark
D. Pearce
Senior
Attorney
Tel 318-484-7744
Fax 318-484-7722
cc: Ms. Demetra
E. Anas (FERC)
Mr. R.
O’Neal Chadwick (Cleco)
Mr. George
Bausewine (Cleco)
Mr. Keith
LaBauve (Cleco)
Ms. Lynn
Ferry (Cleco)
Ms. Kara
French (Phelps Dunbar)
