Tacoma Power wins refund from Enron

TACOMA, WASHINGTON - Bankrupt Enron Corp. has agreed to refund Tacoma Power $3.3 million, though the city-owned utility will likely see only a fraction of that amount, Tacoma Power announced recently.

Tacoma Power filed a claim as part of Enron's bankruptcy, asserting that the inflated prices during the 2000 and 2001 energy crisis were the result of the Houston-based energy company's manipulation of the market.

"We wanted to get something out of this before there's nothing left," said Mark Crisson, the director of Tacoma Public Utilities.

Tacoma Power customers won't receive any cash out of the deal.

The Enron settlement represents a small percentage of the amount Tacoma Power was overcharged during the energy crisis, Crisson said.

Enron played a minor role in Tacoma's energy problems during that time. The utility has another claim against several other West Coast power sellers, now winding its way through the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, for $150 million.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court still need to approve the decision. Once they do, Tacoma Power will probably receive less than a quarter of the settlement amount because of Enron's bankrupt status. The court is distributing money for these types of claims at a rate of 23 cents on the dollar, Tacoma Power said.

The administrative costs of doling out checks to Tacoma Power customers would eat up about half what the utility receives, Crisson said.

"It will come back through TPU to the extent of applying to it future expenses, keeping them lower and that might keep rates lower," he said.

The settlement pleased Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington.

"I'm glad that Tacoma is getting something from Enron," she said. "Something is better than nothing, and nothing was a very real possibility."

Several other parties have also settled similar claims with Enron, including the Nevada Cos., the Metropolitan Water District of California and the City of Santa Clara, Calif., said Anne Spangler, Tacoma's chief assistant city attorney. Spangler worked on the case for Tacoma Power.

Tacoma Power filed its claim against Enron in 2002, though it's been participating in refund cases related to the energy crisis since 2001, Spangler said.

The settlement resolves one of the few remaining disputes involving Enron in the federal regulatopry commission's proceedings, according to the settlement documents filed by both parties.

The Snohomish County Public Utility District is still battling Enron, though in a different type of case. Enron claims the PUD owes it $120 million for terminating its contract with the company, according to the PUD's Web site.