Maybe someone can take Halliburton to court next?
Article found here.
California asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to order more than $6 billion in refunds from power companies for overcharges on electricity during the state's 2000-2001 energy crisis.
More below the fold.
"Equity and just and reasonable principles demand we get paid," said Stan Berman, who argued California's case before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
California has asked the court to step in because the state contends federal energy regulators have failed to protect consumers.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is requiring energy companies, including several subsidiaries of bankrupt Enron Corp., to pay $3.3 billion for manipulating power prices in California's market.
Berman said California consumers and businesses paid $8 billion to $10 billion for overpriced power in a manipulated market.
In court, FERC argued Congress vested it with absolute discretion to seek whatever remedy it saw fit.
"You do not have authority to review how we settle a case or how we dealt with past conduct," attorney Dennis Lane told the court.
That did not sit well with Judge M. Margaret McKeown, who asked: "What if FERC decided to use its authority only against companies whose names began with S?"
"The law is, that's not reviewable," Lane responded. (Emphasis is mine)
Apparently nothing is reviewable under this administration, including Dick Cheney's super secret energy meetings.
California has alleged it was the victim of widespread manipulation of both the price and supply of energy in a newly deregulated electricity market. As prices soared, the state faced energy shortages and rolling blackouts. The crisis cost the state billions of dollars and disrupted energy markets across the West.
Federal regulators capped wholesale power prices and instituted other changes in June 2001 that quickly ended the crisis. But by then, the state's largest utility had filed for bankruptcy and two others had billions in debts.
In September, the 9th Circuit Court said FERC "abused its administrative discretion" when it declined to bill the power sellers for power they sold before October 2000.
Wonder why it took so long for Federal regulators to step up to the plate. And I wonder how many of those who profited from CA's energy crisis donated money to Bush and Gang?