Possessed

FERC Staff: El Paso Had Market Power, Committed Affiliate Abuse

Two El Paso Corp. subsidiaries, El Paso Natural Gas and El Paso Merchant Energy Co. (EPME), possessed market power — the ability to maintain prices above competitive levels — during the summer of 2000, and violated FERC’s marketing affiliate standards that govern the behavior of interstate pipelines and their affiliates, FERC staff counsel has concluded.

August 29, 2001