Duke to be smoked? I commented awhile back that power plants could do allot of questionable things to manipulate load and that they would not stand the scrutiny of best industry practices.
Crybaby union employees seeking revenge for taking them off the regulated nipple? Or perhaps some truth?
Duke Workers to Testify on Alleged Power-Supply Manipulation
By Daniel Taub
Sacramento, California, June 21 (Bloomberg) -- Duke Energy Corp. tried to boost the price of electricity by ordering unnecessary plant shutdowns, three former power-plant workers will tell California lawmakers, state Senator Joe Dunn said.
Glenn Johnson, Ed Edwards and Jimmey Olkjer are expected to testify tomorrow before a state Senate committee investigating price manipulation in the California power market. All three worked at the Duke's South Bay Power Plant in San Diego County.
``We've been working with them for two weeks, maybe three now, trying to secure their testimony,'' said Dunn, a Democrat from Santa Ana and chairman of the committee. Other power-plant workers are expected to testify in coming weeks, Dunn said.
California Governor Gray Davis, Public Utilities Commission President Loretta Lynch and other state officials have accused generators of withholding power to boost electricity prices. Attorney General Bill Lockyer said last week he will convene a grand jury to investigate the charges.
Power-plant operators, including Charlotte-based Duke, said they have done nothing improper. Duke said it produced 50 percent more electricity in 2000 than it did in 1999.
Keeping the Lights On
``Employees of our company have been committed to keeping the lights on for over 100 years and their efforts in California are leading to even higher power plant output in 2001 than in 2000,'' Duke said in a statement.
Johnson, a mechanic at Duke's South Bay plant for more than 20 years, said he was directed to do maintenance work on equipment that didn't need it, CBS News reported on its Web site. He said the company probably did that to lower output and increase prices, CBS reported. Edwards told CBS he was ordered to dispose of spare parts, slowing maintenance, CBS reported.
Control-room logs obtained by CBS show that Duke Energy Trading and Marketing ordered power levels to rise and fall quickly. Assistant control-room operator Olkjer said that never occurred before California's power market was deregulated, CBS reported.
Federal regulators today ordered Duke to pay millions of dollars in refunds to California. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the energy generator's explanation for high prices it charged for wholesale power in January.
Duke argued that charging $3,880 a megawatt hour during an unspecified period of short supply was justified because of the risk it might not be paid. FERC disagreed and said Duke should have charged no more than $273 per megawatt hour, the proxy price for that month. |
