WASHINGTON – Federal energy regulators yesterday delayed release of an interim report on their investigation into whether electricity trading strategies used by Enron Corp. and other companies inflated prices.
The FERC's update could provide investors with a first glimpse of the government's ongoing multi-agency probe of now-bankrupt Enron's infamous trading schemes nicknamed "Get Shorty" and "Death Star," as well as "wash trades."
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's report, expected to go to Congress yesterday, would likely be released instead today, an agency spokesman told Reuters. No reason was given for the delay.
Under intense pressure from Congress earlier this year, the FERC launched a sweeping investigation into whether Enron and dozens of other energy companies used shady trading strategies to manipulate power prices in California and other states.
"The FERC has to show that it's being very tough, that it's not being a patsy," said Ellen Lapson, a managing director with Fitch ratings agency.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission are also investigating Enron and other energy companies for possible wrongdoing.
FERC's interim report could also clarify the agency's position on wash trades, which are not explicitly illegal. Wash trades are simultaneous sales and purchases of energy with the same counterparty to inflate trading volumes or tilt prices.
FERC Chairman Pat Wood has stressed that the report will not close the book on the investigation, and that much work still lies ahead for the agency. In comments earlier this month, Wood set a self-imposed deadline of Aug. 10 for releasing the interim report.
