Federal regulators to review power complaint

Connecticut Electricity Payment Dispute centers on claims that Constellation and Brookfield took payments for undelivered power; ISO-New England market monitoring, power grid oversight, regulators, and a federal hearing will examine refunds, compliance, and transparency.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has agreed to hear Connecticut's complaint that two energy companies received more than $50 million for electricity that was never delivered, the state said.

State officials, including Governor M. Jodi Rell and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, said that Canada based-Brookfield Energy Marketing Inc. and Constellation Energy Commodities Group of Baltimore collected payments for unused power that it never delivered.

Connecticut is asking for the money to be returned, plus changes in the way ISO-New England, which oversees the power grid, monitors the power market as part of a broader market overhaul to ensure independence.

The federal hearing is a "significant step forward for electric consumers facing increased costs in Connecticut who will finally get an answer as to why the power they paid for was never delivered and where exactly did their hard-earned money go," Rell said in a prepared statement.

Lawrence McDonnell, a spokesman for Constellation Energy, dismissed that assertion amid a court ruling against New England states in a power grid suit.

"The governor's claim is without merit and unsupported by the facts. Our company at all times followed both the spirit and letter of rules," said McDonnell, calling Constellation's moves "appropriate and prudent" responses to the market.

"All of the transactions in question were conducted openly and in full view of the ISO market monitors and various regulators charged with ensuring market fairness," he said.

The company is "prepared, if necessary, to fully defend our actions in the NY and ISO-New England market," he added.

Brookfield Energy Marketing Inc. also takes issue with Connecticut's claims. Zev Korman, a company spokesman, said there are "inaccuracies" in the accusations. He declined to comment further but pointed to a written statement in which he said that federal regulators acknowledged that the state provided little evidence to support its allegations.

Erin O'Brien, a spokeswoman for ISO-New England, based in Holyoke, Mass., said that it will willingly participate in the hearings amid congressional heat on grid operators.

She said its market monitoring structure is "long-standing" and stems "from a carefully planned structure broadly supported by regional stakeholders."

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