Associated Press
OLYMPIA — New evidence about electricity market manipulation by Enron Corp. should prompt federal regulators to take another look at Northwest utilities’ bids for refunds for last year’s high electricity prices, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire said Tuesday.
In September, an administrative law judge ruled that the Northwest power market was not unfairly manipulated during the electricity crisis earlier in the year and recommended against refunds.
But Gregoire argues that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should reconsider the case in light of recently released Enron memos describing trading strategies designed to maximize profits in California’s deregulated electricity markets.
"Electric utilities throughout the West — not just California — suffered because of Enron’s manipulative tactics," Gregoire wrote in papers filed with the agency. "As a matter of fairness, Pacific Northwest utilities should be allowed to make a case as to why they are entitled to recover those costs."
In a separate case last year, FERC established a process for California state agencies and utilities to seek refunds.
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