Dianne

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Friday asked FERC to strip Reliant of its authority to sell energy at market-based rates, saying that recently released transcripts of traders at the energy company show evidence of “fraud and manipulation” of the Western power markets during the region’s energy crisis of 2000-2001.

Picking up from where she left off last year, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said she plans to introduce legislation next week to bolster the authority of federal regulators to detect and penalize companies that defraud and manipulate energy markets.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered legislation last week to significantly broaden the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s authority to impose criminal and civil penalties for illegal activities in both natural gas and electricity markets. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate and Natural Resources Committee, indicated House-Senate conferees may consider folding the Feinstein measure into the omnibus energy bill.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to pay close attention to natural gas traded between November 2000 and May 2001 as it continues to investigate allegedly fraudulent and manipulative trading practices in California and other western energy markets during the critical 2000-2001 period.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s initiative to regulate trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives, which was defeated during the debate over the Senate energy bill last month, has sprung to life again. The California Democrat has persuaded Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who supports her effort and is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, to hold a hearing on the measure.

In a major victory for energy traders, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) last week withdrew her controversial amendment to re-regulate the trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy and metals derivatives after the Senate defeated a cloture motion to end debate on the measure.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and about a half a dozen other senators plan to soon introduce a “modified” version of her amendment to re-regulate the trading of over-the-counter (OTC) energy derivatives, a spokesman for her office said Monday. This marks the second time that Feinstein’s controversial measure to the Senate omnibus energy bill (S. 517) has been revised.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called on FERC to initiate a new investigation into allegations that generators manipulated California power prices in the wake of a new General Accounting Office (GAO) report, which found the Commission’s initial probe to be faulty.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has called on FERC to initiate a new investigation into allegations that generators manipulated California power prices in the wake of a General Accounting Office (GAO) report, which found the Commission’s initial probe to be faulty.