Feds launch energy market manipulation investigation, note other
Investigators suspect market manipulation stemming from February’s winter storms. Two natural gas companies are under federal investigation.
AUSTIN, Texas — In a report on energy enforcement, auditors with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) flagged two natural gas companies.
The auditors told the commissioners about suspected market manipulation during the February winter event, known as Winter Storm Uri.
Manipulation impacts supply, damages electric grid reliability and increases costs.
“We examined market participants’ associated price run-ups or collapses, along with their gross revenues and expenditures in the gas markets,” said Kevin Dinan, attorney-adviser for the Office of Enforcement at FERC.
Auditors turned the cases over to the department’s investigations unit. Names of the companies are not released.
“This examination remains ongoing as new information comes to light,” Dinan said.
This comes two days after FERC, North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), Midwest Reliability Organization, Northeast Power Coordinating Council, ReliabilityFirst Corporation, SERC Corporation, Texas Reliability Entity and Western Electricity Coordinating Council issued their February 2021 storm report.
The agencies made 28 recommendations to Texas, including recommendations for weatherization, how to better predict electric demand, and increase the ability to rotate rolling blackouts.
“We know what happened in 2011, the last time recommendations were made to require generators to winterize in Texas. They were watered down to voluntary guidance,” FERC Chairman Richard Glick said in the committee hearing Thursday.
This year, Texas lawmakers passed legislation requiring power companies to winterize based on guidance from a decade ago. The Public Utility Commission issued its rules for weatherization based on the new law. Meanwhile, the PUC regulates the state’s electric utilities.
“You had the winterization issue of the generating units. And then you had a second major reason, which was the failure in many cases of gas supply to those units,” FERC Commissioner Mark C. Christie said.
This federal report shows February’s energy failures primarily…
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