Agrees

A federal judge in Houston Thursday agreed to accept a guilty plea from former Enron Corp. assistant treasurer Lea Fastow, but the five-month sentence, which was agreed upon by the defense and prosecution, could be altered after the court mandated a pre-sentencing report. Meanwhile, a plea bargain agreement for Andrew Fastow, Enron’s ex-CFO, remained tentative.

Todd Geiger, the former El Paso Corp. natural gas trader accused of reporting bogus data to an energy trade publication in an attempt to manipulate gas price indexes, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of false reporting and agreed to cooperate with the federal prosecution. In exchange for the guilty plea, one wire fraud count was dropped against him.

Todd Geiger, the former El Paso Corp. natural gas trader accused of reporting bogus data to an energy trade publication in an attempt to manipulate gas price indexes, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of false reporting and agreed to cooperate with the federal prosecution. In exchange for the guilty plea, one wire fraud count was dropped against him.

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay on Friday agreed to hand over, within three days, more than 870 pages of what he terms “personal” correspondence to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), just moments before the commission was set to argue the case in a Washington, DC federal courtroom.

Former Enron Corp. Chairman Kenneth Lay on Friday agreed to hand over, within three days, more than 870 pages of what he terms “personal” correspondence to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), just moments before the commission was set to argue the case in a Washington, DC federal courtroom.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC Friday upheld a lower court decision that enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing an open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, finding the agency exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it ordered the action in 2000.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC Friday upheld a lower court decision that enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing an open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, finding the agency exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it ordered the action in 2000.

Curtis Wagner, FERC’s chief judge, last week reversed course from a decision he reached in late June and said that he will certify to the full Commission a settlement between Avista and FERC staff aimed at resolving allegations that the power company engaged in trading strategies designed to manipulate California’s energy markets in 2000-2001.

Without admitting any wrongdoing, El Paso Corp.’s trading unit has agreed to pay $20 million as part of a settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) of charges that it submitted false information about natural gas trades in an attempt to manipulate prices.