On Friday, March 20, 2015, Commissioner Norman Bay presented a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lecture titled “An Overview of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Energy Markets Today.”

Bay introduced the talk with a clip from House of Cards, when Vice President Francis ‘Frank’ Underwood (Kevin Spacey) threatens billionaire industry tycoon Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) with a FERC investigation (Season 2 – Episode 6).

His talk included a description of FERC, what it does, the commission, its history, and what it regulates. He also gave an overview of the energy markets today, focusing on significant trends and developments in oil, gas, and electricity.

Bay also discussed several emerging challenges in the energy markets and said that it was “a time of great change.” These include the shale revolution, the abundance of energy, the growth of renewables, environmental rules, low load growth, and increases in energy efficiency.

He closed his talk in an entertaining way, too, with a quote by Yogi Berra, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

Commissioner Bay was welcomed back to the School of Law by a large group of alumni and former colleagues from his days as professor here. A reception was held in his honor following the lecture.

This event was hosted by the UNM School of Law Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program, the Utton Center and the Office of Advancement in cooperation with the Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law Section of the New Mexico Bar Association.