U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Tuesday he may order the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to examine the potential impact on energy markets of the collapse of Enron Corp., which over the weekend filed the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in history. However, Abraham said he did not think Enron’s fall would affect energy deregulation.

Abraham said he thought congressional hearings were the appropriate venue for conducting a formal inquiry of the fall of Enron and the impact on markets. However, he said he thought an analysis by EIA would be helpful.

The Senate Energy Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee already are planning hearings on the matter. House committee staff met Tuesday to discuss Enron with investigators from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Committee staff will hold similar meetings today with representatives of accounting firm Arthur Andersen, Enron’s financial auditor, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and plan to meet Thursday with top Enron officials in Houston.

Meanwhile, House Republican leader Richard Armey said Tuesday he did not see an immediate role for Congress in addressing the disintegration of Enron.

“Normally we wouldn’t do an analysis of a specific company,” said Jonathan Cogan, energy information specialist for the EIA, but he noted it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the agency to examine the implications of Enron’s financial collapse on the markets. “At this point in time, however, we have not been asked [by the secretary] to do any special analysis, nor have we initiated any internal analysis of the Enron situation,” Cogan told NGI.

After meeting with the SEC’s general counsel, director of enforcement and head of corporate financing Tuesday, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) plans to send a letter to the SEC requesting information related to Enron’s financial books and records. The committee expects to hold hearings next year.

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