FERC last Thursday approved two settlements totaling more than $84 million that resolve agency investigations into wholesale market power abuses during the western energy crisis of 2000-2001.

In one settlement, El Paso Marketing LP has agreed to pay $56 million to put to rest all outstanding matters and claims involving the manipulation of energy prices in the California and Pacific Northwest power markets during the period from Jan. 1, 2000 through June 20, 2001. The El Paso settlement was sponsored by El Paso and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., and was supported by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the FERC order [EL00-95-191] noted .

Separately, PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., will pay $27.9 million to settle claims related to its transactions in the California and Pacific Northwest power markets during the same time period. California’s investor-owned utilities, the state Attorney General’s office, the California Electricity Oversight Board, the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Department of Water Resources, all agreed to the settlement, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) [EL00-95].

“These settlements put us another step closer to finally resolving the lingering issues from the western energy crisis and returning money to consumers,” said FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher. “Settlements, not prolonged and costly litigation, have given consumers more than $6 billion in refunds.”

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