First you were fleeced to the tune of at least $20 million. Then your public power agency was sued for $120 million for refusing to abide by a criminally manipulated contract.
Despite all that, Enron isn’t done with you yet, Snohomish County PUD customers. With the help of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s legal staff, the crooked energy marketer wants to settle with the PUD and other agencies for a miniscule amount of the money it took from you. On top of that, it wants to make sure no one can uncover any more damning evidence of its criminal misdeeds.
Fuming yet? You should be. Fortunately, so are PUD officials and Sen. Maria Cantwell, who are continuing to fight efforts to let Enron off the hook.
As much as there is to hate about Enron, at least its motivation is understandable. Busted into bankruptcy and never burdened by a conscience, it’s trying to salvage every penny it can. The FERC staff’s motivation, however, is hard to fathom.
Perhaps they want this case go away so badly that they’re willing to make a deal, any deal. They sure don’t seem to give a rip about fairness.
The proposed settlement, announced last week, offers $10 million to be divided among the Snohomish County PUD, the Port of Seattle, the city of Tacoma and the Grays Harbor PUD. Consider that Enron is committed to paying $200 million to California, and that more than $500 million has been paid to Enron’s lawyers and executives throughout the bankruptcy proceedings, and you see how bad a deal this is. And it gets even worse. Because the bankruptcy court is paying claims at just 23 cents on the dollar, the total is really just $2.3 million.
“The $2.3 million is not even a token sum,” Snohomish County PUD assistant general counsel Eric Christensen told the Associated Press. “It’s ridiculous.”
Cantwell, who has fought Enron and prodded FERC frequently from her seat on the Senate Energy Committee, is similarly outraged. In a letter sent to FERC on Monday, she urged commissioners to reject the deal, noting that in addition to being far too low, it could hurt the PUD’s defense of Enron’s $120 million claim against it by putting further evidence of Enron’s criminal behavior under wraps.
After failing to prevent Enron’s criminal manipulation of power markets – a con job that the PUD estimates netted Enron $1.8 billion – it’s time for FERC to come to the aid of ratepayers, which is the reason it exists. Commissioners should send this proposal back to their legal staff, with instructions to get real.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
