The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) has called on FERC for quick action to mandate price reporting, citing investigations and settlements by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) with 16 energy companies.

“Re-regulation is not necessary,” the industrial group said, “but the current system is badly in need of timely repair.”

“FERC should ensure that markets are transparent and that price, supply, storage, demand and other relevant data are disclosed in a timely auditable manner to all market participants to prevent market abuses, IECA said Tuesday in announcing its “Natural Gas Price Index Policy Recommendations.”

The IECA said FERC should be mandating a rigidly controlled price reporting system to ensure against any attempts at market manipulation. The group recommends “FERC adopt standards for the design of and participation in natural gas price indexes,” with all companies trading above a certain volume sending price information in to a FERC-designated collection entity.

Then “FERC itself or its designee should: verify the accuracy and integrity of the data; remove all sensitive, proprietary trade information; and make the aggregated data available to the public. Any irregularities should be reviewed by FERC….In the event that an intentional attempt to falsify or misreport transactions is discovered, FERC should impose significant civil penalties and refer any such findings to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution.”

IECA is a non-profit association that represents 23 major industrial companies, including Dow Chemical, Tyson Foods, Owens Corning, Bayer Corp., and the American Forests and Paper Association, among others. In the past the group has complained to Congress about high natural gas prices, urging the lifting of moratoria on drilling in selected areas (see Daily GPI, Dec. 4, 2003)

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