History

As Enron Corp. fades slowly into history the trinkets and trappings that helped create the company’s forceful mystique soon can be had by even ordinary people.

Many may want Enron to go down in history as a company that cooked its books with financial witchcraft practiced only by a select few evil doers. But accounting “subterfuge” — often using derivatives in the $95 trillion unregulated over the counter market — is prevalent throughout not only the energy industry but all of corporate America. It is common practice to try and create the perception of financial health rather than report economic reality, law professor Frank Partnoy said recently in shocking testimony before the Senate Committee on Government Affairs.

Many may want Enron to go down in history as a company that cooked its books with financial witchcraft practiced only by a select few evil doers. But accounting “subterfuge” — often using derivatives in the $95 trillion unregulated over the counter market — is prevalent throughout not only the energy industry but all of corporate America. It is common practice to try and create the perception of financial health rather than report economic reality, law professor Frank Partnoy said last week in shocking testimony before the Senate Committee on Government Affairs.

Within days after Enron Corp. filed the largest bankruptcy in history, the focus of the seemingly never-ending financial nightmare shifted last week from the company’s headquarters in Houston, TX, and Wall Street to the political epicenter in Washington DC, with lawmakers on Capitol Hill quickly scheduling hearings to find out “how this happened” and the Department of Labor opening an investigation into the possible mishandling of retirement funds of Enron employees. This action comes on top of the ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into the embattled energy trader.

If recent energy industry history repeats itself, more than half of today’s proposed natural gas-fired power plants will never be built. High gas prices could help prevent 40,000 to 50,000 MW of new generation from upgrading the nation’s fleet of coal and nuclear electricity generating plants, according to a power plant consultant speaking Wednesday at NGI’s GasMart/Power 2001 in Tampa, FL.

Calling 2000 a watershed year for the natural gas market issomewhat akin to saying 1776 was an important time in U.S. history.With only a couple of exceptions, last year began with all spotprice indexes between $2 and $3. It ended with January 2001 indexesranging from $8.56 (Questar) to $18.81 (Transco Zone 6-NYC).

Calling 2000 a watershed year for the natural gas market issomewhat akin to saying 1776 was an important time in U.S. history.With only a couple of exceptions, last year began with all spotprice indexes between $2 and $3. It ended with January 2001 indexesranging from $8.56 (Questar) to $18.81 (Transco Zone 6-NYC).

The Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administrationsaid on Friday it is expecting the highest average gas wellheadprices (nominal) in history this year and the highest prices inreal (inflation-adjusted) terms since 1985.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy InformationAdministration said on Friday it is expecting the highest averagegas wellhead prices (nominal) in history this year and the highestprices in real (inflation adjusted) terms since 1985.