FERC Head Questions Enron Trader Transcript Use

WASHINGTON - - Telephone transcripts that show Enron Corp. traders gloating about stealing money from "Grandma Millie" during California's energy crisis might not offer new evidence of illegal behavior, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said recently.

Evidence contained in audio tapes in which Enron traders discuss ways to gouge California customers during the state's 2000-01 crisis have renewed the call for refunds at the FERC.

But FERC Chairman Pat Wood questioned whether the tapes present actionable new evidence.

"Goading over something happening is not the same as pulling a trigger," Wood told reporters after a monthly FERC meeting. "It's odious and probably very offensive, but is it something that we remedy here under the Federal Power Act? I guess that's the question."

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and other lawmakers have asked FERC to revoke the bankrupt power trader's authority to sell electricity back to Jan. 1, 2000.

Feinstein says that would allow the agency to order $1.8 billion in refunds from Enron, far more than the $32.5 million a FERC judge has recommended.

The agency has no power to order retroactive refunds, Wood said. "The law requires a prospective remedy," he said.

Last month, a small municipal utility released copies of the Enron trader telephone transcripts as part of its effort to recover millions of dollars in alleged overcharges.

One trader asks about "all the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers of California" and another gloats about how much money the company had made from "Grandma Millie."

Enron has declined to comment on the transcripts, saying that it is cooperating with all federal investigations.

In its investigation, FERC lawyers have already reviewed evidence of Enron's trading strategies, Commissioner Nora Brownell said.