TXU Named As Target Of Energy Market Manipulation Probe

[hatrack]

Texas electricity regulators have confirmed the identity of the company that may have manipulated the wholesale power markets: TXU Wholesale. The Public Utility Commission said in a filing Friday that it is investigating the wholesale arm of TXU Corp.

In a report released in the summer, an outside company hired by the commission to monitor power markets said it had found evidence that a company may have withheld electricity from the market on certain days in 2005.

EDIT

his year, the commission hired Potomac as an independent market monitor. Potomac's study showed that the two largest power companies in Texas had enough capacity last year to manipulate the market 75 percent of the time, when demand couldn't be satisfied by the other companies alone. TXU and NRG Energy Inc. are the largest power generators in the state.

Then the report calculated how often those companies kept available power out of the market during times of heavy demand. The report compared three companies: Company A, identified Friday as Calpine Corp.; Company B, identified as NRG; and Company C, TXU Wholesale. The report said its findings raised "substantial competitive concerns" about Company C but not the other two companies.

EDIT

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/102106dnbustxu.5a855822.html

[Lithos]

1. Interesting

Especially when you consider that Erle Nye, CEO of TXU (until perhaps just recently) was the one who spearheaded the deregulation effort and was one of those who with Kenny baby helped with Cheney's Energy task force. He's a good friend of Cheney, Phil Gramm and one of the original Bush Pioneers...

L-