Court

As the once halcyon Enron era draws to a conclusion in a Houston federal court room, 2,000 miles to the northwest at the Oregon headquarters of Portland General Electric (PGE) utility employees are rubbing their eyes and wondering if it was all real — those eight years as a subsidiary of Enron Corp.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) on Tuesday introduced legislation that would bar federal court review of lawsuits that he estimates could deprive the federal government of billions of dollars in royalties.

With its $2 billion in bankruptcy court-approved financing, Calpine Corp. now should not need help supplying natural gas to several of its northern California electric generation plants, according to Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which late Friday filed with state regulators to confirm it was dropping contingency plans to step in to supply the needed gas.

Donald Burwell, an ex-El Paso Corp. natural gas trader, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Houston to violating a provision of the Commodity Exchange Act for his involvement in providing inaccurate trading information to industry publications. Burwell, whose trial was scheduled to begin March 6, agreed to cooperate with the government in similar cases.

While most have been disposed of or are lingering in court appeals, the blizzard of litigation after California’s wholesale energy market meltdown four years ago has spawned 236 separate lawsuits and a 42-page listing compiled by an attorney who has been involved in much of the litigation.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last Tuesday issued an emergency injunction to halt the development of coal-bed methane (CBM) in the Montana section of the Powder River Basin while an appeal of the case is pending.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday issued an emergency injunction that halts the development of coal-bed methane (CBM) in the Montana section of the Powder River Basin while an appeal of the case is being decided.

Illinois’ Citizens Utility Board (CUB) filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday alleging that Nicor Services, an affiliate of Chicago utility Nicor Gas, knowingly markets a gas pipeline repair plan, known as Comfort Guard, to customers who don’t need it and adds it to customers’ bills without their consent.

Illinois’ Citizens Utility Board (CUB) filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Thursday alleging that Nicor Services, an affiliate of Chicago utility Nicor Gas, knowingly markets a gas pipeline repair plan, known as Comfort Guard, to customers who don’t need it and adds it to customers’ bills without their consent.