HOUSTON — The Gulf Coast Power Association said Thursday during its annual meeting that it has rescheduled its annual MISO South-SPP regional conference to March 30-31 in New Orleans.

GCPA had canceled the conference, originally scheduled to take place Feb. 9-10, because of an increase of COVID-19 cases in Louisiana and its “concern for the safety of our attendees.” The organization’s executive director, Kim Casey, said several speakers had also expressed concerns about attending.

Katie Coleman (right) congratulates her successor as GCPA president, Mark Dreyfus. | ©RTO Insider LLC

The city of New Orleans requires a mask in all indoor spaces and proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test within 72 hours for indoor dining, bars and event spaces. Effective Feb. 1, the city’s protocols will require proof of two vaccine doses or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours.

The organization will reopen registration for the conference on Tuesday. Barring further developments, the two-day conference will be held at the Pan American Life Center. MISO CEO John Bear and SPP CEO Barbara Sugg had both agreed to deliver keynote addresses.

The annual conference was last held in 2020. It was canceled last year because of the pandemic.

This year’s meeting will mark the beginning of energy consultant Mark Dreyfus’ two-year term as GCPA’s president. Dreyfus succeeds Katie Coleman, a partner in O’Melveny & Myers’ Austin office.

Dreyfus, who has 25 years of industry experience, praised Coleman, whose term began just before the world shut down for the pandemic and also included the state’s response to the February 2021 winter storm.

“Katie led GCPA through these last two challenging years,” Dreyfus said. “My focus in this next year is to continue the recovery of the organization from the impacts of COVID, focusing on GCPA’s core functions of information exchange through our quality, low-cost conferences, and creating networking opportunities for our members.”

GCPA members also voted MISO’s Daryl Brown, executive director of external affairs for the RTO’s South region, to its board of directors.

GCPA is a regional electric power trade organization that serves Texas and the Gulf Coast and promotes an improved understanding of power market issues and opportunities.