Calling for federal regulatory action, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Monday joined a large public-sector utility, Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD), in releasing new financial documents and audio tapes of past energy trading that they contend show that bankrupt Enron Corp. illegally cornered about $1.1 billion in profits from western ratepayers during the 2000-2001 wholesale energy market meltdown through the West.

In a letter to FERC Chairman Patrick Wood, the senator called for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to open yet another investigation. Cantwell is a resident of Snohomish County in the state of Washington.

“Unfortunately, FERC has fallen down on the job by conducting an inadequate investigation of Enron’s market manipulation,” Cantwell said, asking rhetorically, “What has FERC been doing with all this evidence of illegal activity? Certainly not protecting Grandma Millie.”

Cantwell and Snohomish PUD said the evidence they made public Monday verified that the manipulation discussed in earlier-released audiotapes actually happened.

Snohomish PUD is defending itself in a $122 million lawsuit by Enron for canceling a 2001 power supply contract, and as part of its defense work in that case the public sector utility obtained Enron audiotapes from the U.S. Justice Department over FERC’s initial legal objections. The latest evidence was discovered as part of this defense work by Snohomish.

Snohomish PUD has maintained that it was justified in breaking the contract because of the deal being based on what it alleged were manipulated energy prices and the fact that Enron by that time was not creditworthy.

“We now have over nine hours of audiotapes and tens of thousands of pages of financial documents covering 18 months in our possession that FERC not only failed to uncover in its investigation, but attempted to quash in ours,” Cantwell said. “FERC’s pattern of inaction and obstruction raises two troubling questions: what didn’t FERC want you to see this evidence, and whose side is FERC really on?”

The new evidence cited by the utility and senator include the following:

Noting that FERC has the authority, the senator and Snohomish would like the federal regulators to void the old contracts as “unjust and unreasonable,” effectively killing the outstanding lawsuits Chapter 11-bound Enron has against Snohomish and several other western utilities.

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