EVERETT – Snohomish County PUD has gained national fame in recent weeks for being the “little Northwest utility that took on Enron.”
But its critics say utility leaders shouldn’t feel too proud of themselves.
The PUD has received more than 100 letters, e-mails and phone calls from people all over the West Coast who are pleased that the public utility dug up evidence that Enron manipulated electricity prices during the 2000-01 energy crisis.
One fan sent flowers to a PUD attorney. Others sent checks and cash, including a California grandmother who sent a dollar bill.
Still, the PUD wouldn’t be taking on Enron if its commissioners had made better decisions during the energy crisis, commissioners were told at a meeting Tuesday.
“They’ve gotten accolades like you can’t believe, but they should have never gotten into this mess in the first place,” said Roger Rice, a former PUD commissioner.
“I don’t think it’s time for celebrations,” added Lynn Claughton, an avid critic of the utility. He pointed out that PUD customers are still paying record high bills caused by decisions made during the energy crisis.
Rice was a PUD commissioner for 12 years, leaving office in 1986. Claughton lost a bid to be elected to the PUD commission in a 2002 race against current commissioner Dave Aldrich.
Rice and Claughton criticized the commission for signing long-term, high-priced contracts with Enron and other energy traders during the height of the energy crisis, when electricity prices had soared to record levels because of market manipulation.
PUD commissioners and utility managers on Tuesday agreed that in hindsight, signing the contract with Enron and the other energy traders was a bad idea.
They also said market manipulation by Enron and a fear that the utility wouldn’t have enough electricity to keep the lights on forced their hand.
“I did vote for those contracts, because I didn’t want to see our customers sitting in the dark,” said Commissioner Kathy Vaughn, who said the market was so out of control that she didn’t know when, or if, prices would fall back to normal.
“Those were the best offers we could get at the time,” she said.
If the commissioners had been more on the ball, they would not have left the utility short of electricity in the months leading up to the crisis, Rice said.
“I hope we learn something from this experience,” he said.
Vaughn and Aldrich said the energy crisis, with its unprecedented price spikes, was proof that the utility should avoid playing the electricity market as much as possible.
Commissioner Cynthia First was not at the meeting. Aldrich wasn’t on the board when the contracts were signed.
Both Vaughn and Aldrich said the utility has done a good job of showing how Enron manipulated the electricity market. They hope the information convinces federal energy regulators to toss out Enron’s claim that the PUD owes it $122 million, canceling an energy-crisis contract early.
The PUD received thousands of hours of taped Enron conversations from the Department of Justice. In one conversation, two Enron traders discussed intentionally trying to manipulate the PUD contract.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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