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Pastimes : The California Energy Crisis - Information & Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skywatcher who wrote (1679)	6/15/2004 8:27:54 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1715

Utility: Enron manipulated market 473 days during crisis chicagotribune.com By Gene Johnson Associated Press June 15, 2004 SEATTLE -- Enron manipulated the energy market nearly every day during the 2000-01 power crunch and gouged Western customers for at least $1.1 billion, according to audiotapes and documents released Monday. The records were uncovered by the same utility that earlier this month released details of profanity-laced conversations in which Enron traders gloat about ripping off "those poor grandmothers" in California during the energy crisis. The latest release by Washington state's Snohomish Public Utility District does not appear to be as damning, but the documents provide another glimpse into how Enron allegedly rigged the market at the same time millions of Californians were suffering blackouts and paying exorbitant electricity bills. The utility wants an administrative law judge to order Enron to surrender up to $2 billion in what it says are ill-gotten gains. California politicians want Enron to reimburse customers there at least $8.9 billion. The latest documents show that Enron manipulated the market on 473 days from January 2000 to June 2001, the utility said. In one scheme, Enron made $222,678 in three hours by shipping power from California to Oregon, masking the original source of the power, and then selling it back to California at highly inflated rates. In one of the transcripts, an Enron employee says: "If the line's not congested, I just look to congest it. ... If you can congest it, that's a moneymaker no matter what." Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) used the evidence to demand a new investigation by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. She said the agency's failure to uncover Enron's schemes wound up hurting thousands of customers and the commission tried to keep the utility district from getting access to Enron's tapes. "When are you going to give justice to the individuals who have been hurt by this Enron market manipulation?" Cantwell asked. "If the federal oversight regulators aren't going to do their job, then they should get out of the way and quit obstructing justice." Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionspokesman Bryan Lee said the agency would review the documents to see what new information they contained. He denied that the agency had tried to suppress any information. An administrative law judge's finding that Enron should forfeit $32.5 million in unjust profits is pending before the agency. The utility analyzed the records in hopes of defending itself against a $122 million lawsuit filed by Enron, which has accused the district of illegally breaking its contracts with the company. The utility claims the contract was void because Enron engaged in fraudulent practices to drive up prices. Enron filed for bankruptcy in 2001 amid devastating revelations of hidden debt, inflated profits and shady accounting.