Investigations

Add the U.S. Treasury to the long list of institutions launching investigations in the wake of Enron Corp.’s collapse. U.S. regulations that protect investors are being reviewed by the department, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said Sunday. O’Neill, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said “it is not clear whether the company fulfilled all of its obligations under the existing rules,” regarding rules that allowed Enron’s management to sell stock while its employees were barred from doing the same thing.

On top of the ongoing investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and departments of Justice and Labor, two senators now have called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch a probe into Enron Corp. and its officers and directors to determine whether any federal fraud and consumer protection law violations and other irregularities occurred leading up to the collapse of the former energy giant.

Capitol Hill last week wasted little time in calling for hearings and investigations into the events that led up to and caused the financial collapse of energy giant Enron Corp.

Capitol Hill has wasted little time in calling for hearings and investigations into the events that led up to and caused the financial collapse of energy giant Enron Corp.

With December natural gas usage bills hitting extraordinarilyhard in Illinois this year, city and state legislators have set outin search of clues as to why gas prices are through the roof.Spurred by the urgings of Gov. George H. Ryan and variouslegislators, the Illinois Commerce Commission voted 5-0 to open aninvestigation into this winter’s natural gas price spikes. The ICCalso directed its staff to put together its final report within 60to 120 days (see Daily GPI, Jan. 10).

Investigations in several states are getting under way intoalleged illegal profit-taking by UtiliCorp United in Missouri,Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. An anonymous letter fromsomeone who claimed to be a current employee for UtiliCorp was sentto state regulators alleging the company’s Gas Supply ServiceDepartment (GSS) took part in improper actions in reselling naturalgas to customers in these states.

Investigations in several states are getting under way intoalleged illegal profit-taking by UtiliCorp United in Missouri,Michigan, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa. An anonymous letter fromsomeone who claimed to be a current employee for UtiliCorp was sentto state regulators alleging the company’s Gas Supply ServiceDepartment (GSS) took part in improper actions in reselling naturalgas to customers in these states.

As a result of one of the most extensive environmentalinvestigations ever, federal authorities last week filed a stringof lawsuits and other actions against 32 coal-fired utility plantsin the South and Midwest for allegedly failing to installpollution-control equipment when major facility upgrades were made.These actions, they said, contributed significantly to the higherlevels of nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SOx) andparticulate matter emissions over the years.