Hill

Under mounting pressure from Capitol Hill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week kicked off an investigation into whether the once-powerful Enron Corp. manipulated wholesale electricity prices during the energy crisis that rocked California last year. If manipulation is found, FERC Chairman Pat Wood told a Senate committee that federal regulators or the courts could void some of the long-term forward contracts that the state signed to lock in supplies.

Under mounting pressure from Capitol Hill, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has kicked off an investigation into whether the once-powerful Enron Corp. manipulated long-term electricity prices during the energy crisis that rocked California last year. If manipulation is found, FERC Chairman Pat Wood earlier this week said federal regulators or the courts could void some of the long-term forward contracts that the state signed.

Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay canceled his much-awaited appearances before Senate and House subcommittees this week in the wake of a blistering internal company report that said Lay, as well as other senior management officials, the board of directors and the company’s outside auditor, contributed to the financial collapse of the once-powerful energy trader last fall. Both congressional panels are now considering issuing subpoenas for Lay to testify at a later date.

Legislation pending on Capitol Hill that seeks to cut emissions of power plant pollutants would force electric utilities to jumpstart a “massive construction effort” in order to meet the compliance timeframe included in the measure, Gerard Anderson, president of DTE Energy Resources, told a Senate panel last Thursday. That construction effort, in turn, would hike the cost of power and in many regions impact the reliability of the overall electric grid, Anderson said.

While Capitol Hill’s legislative schedule has been turned upside down in the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee still expects to mark up and vote out a comprehensive energy bill this fall, an aide to the committee said.

A western senator yesterday urged Capitol Hill lawmakers not to spend too much time on the issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge because, he cautions, it’s not going to get through Congress.

Appearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, California Gov. Gray Davis argued that FERC must order power generators to refund his state billions of dollars worth of what he said were overcharges for power supplied to the state. “FERC must order these energy companies to give us back our money,” Davis told the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee at a hearing looking at the role of FERC and the restructuring of energy industries.

Legislation unveiled last Tuesday on Capitol Hill would ensure that combined heat and power (CHP) systems are allowed to interconnect nationwide with the electricity grid, while also reducing energy costs and harnessing power that would otherwise be wasted.

Legislation unveiled yesterday on Capitol Hill would ensure that combined heat and power (CHP) systems are allowed to interconnect nationwide with the electricity grid, while also reducing energy costs and harnessing power that would otherwise be wasted.