Case

Prosecutors wading through the burgeoning and expensive Enron Corp. case may consider charges in the next month related to Whitewing and Yosemite, two of the company’s partnerships that helped the former energy merchant create cash flow and hide assets.

The federal judge overseeing Enron Corp.’s bankruptcy case has given the Houston-based company a fourth and final deadline of June 30 to file a reorganization plan.

The federal judge overseeing Enron Corp.’s bankruptcy case has given the Houston-based company a fourth and final deadline of June 30 to file a reorganization plan.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Electricity Oversight Board (CEOB) last Tuesday asked FERC to reopen the record in a proceeding involving the agencies’ challenge to several power contracts entered into by the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) and various power suppliers during the state’s 2000-2001 energy crisis.

In another case inspired by the added information flowing from ongoing federal and state investigations, Reliant Energy and others were targeted last week in a Los Angeles law firm’s class action lawsuit , alleging a “massive conspiracy” to manipulate wholesale natural gas prices through bankrupt Enron Corp.’s now-defunct online energy trading operation.

Was it a case of deja vu? Friday’s market was close to a carbon copy of the day before. Sizeable declines in the Northeast and plunges in San Juan Basin and the Rockies mingled with moderate upticks at nearly all other points. The gains were around a dime or less in a majority of cases.

California regulators last week interpreted a ruling by the bankruptcy judge in the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. case as affirming their authority to enter into a proposed reorganization agreement with the utility. The judge denied a motion by the utility to toss out the California Public Utilities Commission’s alternative Chapter 11 reorganization plan for the PG&E utility. Hearings continue in a San Francisco federal bankruptcy court on the joint proposal by the CPUC and the official unsecured creditors’ committee.

Last week’s price tumble has analysts and traders rethinking the bullish case for longer term natural gas prices. According to one top trader, should prices retreat a little more it will be time to begin purchases.

The Missouri Public Service Commission late Thursday unanimously approved an overall settlement on a natural gas rate case filed last January by Laclede Gas Co., the largest natural gas distributor in the state. The new gas service rates approved will increase a typical residential customer’s average monthly gas bill by approximately $1.76 a month.