Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers last week announced the distribution of more than $8 million in restitution to Oregon utility companies — the bulk going to Portland General Electric (PGE) — and industrial customers for losses during the electricity price spikes of 2000-2001.

The restitution is part of a three-year, $15 million settlement with the Williams Companies, which was announced last year. Myers said that the $8 million repayment reflects the maximum harm imposed on Oregon residential and commercial electricity consumers related to the practices of Williams.

“These refunds are a small but important measure of justice for Oregon ratepayers based on the harm they incurred as a result of the unprecedented and unwarranted increase in energy costs,” said Myers.

Upon announcing the settlement with Williams, Myers asked the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to determine the distribution of the funds on a pro rata basis based on each consumer’s exposure to the volatility of the western wholesale electricity market.

Following a public hearing and public comment period, the state attorney general adopted the PUC distribution plan. The plan sends nearly 60% of the restitution dollars to PGE. The remaining funds are distributed among other utility companies and industrial customers.

Under the terms of the distribution, investor-owned utilities (IOUs), such as PGE, PacifiCorp and Idacorp, are required to place a one-time credit on consumers’ monthly bills, adjusted to reflect each customer’s usage. Public utilities (municipals, public utility districts and cooperatives) are not required to provide direct credits to consumers; however, they must use the refund for the benefit of the utilities’ members.

The 2003 settlement was the result of a coordinated investigation into allegations of price manipulation and antitrust violations in the Western power market initiated in January 2001 by the attorneys general of Oregon, California and Washington.

Myers noted that the Oregon Department of Justice is continuing to pursue unethical and likely unlawful market practices by various market participants, including purposefully congesting transmission lines, “wash” sales and other schemes designed to drive up the prices of wholesale electricity between 2000 and 2001.

©Copyright 2004 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.