Alberta seeks new Enron probe

Alberta's electricity regulator is pushing for a fresh federal investigation into whether two power companies colluded to drive up prices in the summer of 1999 after obtaining transcripts of telephone conversations where traders talk about going to jail for rigging the market and “getting together to screw Alberta.”

Market Surveillance Administrator Martin Merritt dispatched a letter Thursday to the federal Competition Bureau, requesting that it renew its investigation into price fluctuations in mid-1999. He made the request after reviewing 176 pages of conversation transcripts involving Enron Corp. employees and workers at Powerex Corp.

The individuals involved either could not be reached, or declined to comment.

Both Enron and Powerex, a subsidiary of British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, were the focus of a Competition Bureau investigation that ultimately concluded in late 2000 that there was no evidence of collusion to fix prices.

The original allegations charged that one of the two companies would withdraw an offer for power that would be followed shortly after by an offer from the other company of a similar amount of power but at a higher price.

Now, new documents from Enron relating to those price fluctuations — an effort the company dubbed Project Stanley — have become publicly available, after the MSA and a Washington state power utility applied separately to have a court release them.

Mr. Merritt said the transcripts suggest there may have been a pattern of “premeditation and co-ordination,� while declining to describe that pattern as collusion. However, he said he believes that traders at Enron and Powerex may have increasingly taken cues from each other in various transactions, eventually becoming able to anticipate how the other would react.

“It's like dance partners learning how each other move, and by the end of the night, they're looking pretty sharp,� he said, adding he does not believe any Alberta regulations were breached.

The documents also show that at least one Enron trader had market manipulation on his mind. In the transcript of a June 17, 1999, a Canadian-based Enron worker named Bill Greenizan discusses trades in Alberta with a co-worker in the United States, making what Enron lawyers call “a number of unfortunate statements.�

“Hey Bill, what's up,� asks Jeff Storey, an Enron trader in Houston.

“I'm going to jail,� Mr. Greenizan replies.

“What?�

“I'm going to jail,� he repeats.

“For what,� Mr. Storey asks. “Pool price manipulation,� Mr. Greenizan says, causing Mr. Storey to laugh, according to the transcript.

Later in the same conversation, Mr. Greenizan explains how his sales of power into the Alberta market benefit Powerex. “So, I'm figuring I'm going to their Christmas party,� he says.

“Oh, my God,� replies Mr. Storey. “Well, that's so... finally you guys, you and Powerex are, like getting together to screw Alberta, basically.�

“Yeah, yeah,� the Canadian manager says.

“Well,... that's better than just getting screwed by Powerex,� Mr. Storey says, again laughing.

Contacted at his Calgary home, Mr. Greenizan declined to comment.

Mr. Merritt said he noticed those exchanges, but they were not central to his decision to ask the Competition Bureau to reopen its probe.

B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Elisha Moreno said her company has not been contacted about the documents, but believes it has done nothing wrong.

Enron had no comment, except to say it is continuing to co-operate with investigations into its trades.

Denyse MacKenzie, senior deputy commissioner, criminal matters branch, for the Competition Bureau, said she couldn't comment on the documents from Alberta because the bureau hasn't yet received them.