As Michigan lawmakers prepare for a new legislative session in Lansing, two of the state's largest utility companies have already launched an ambitious public affairs campaign: Pushing to maintain their dominance over the Great Lakes' States' electric grid.
Continue readingConsumer Group: Electricity Price-Gouging Feared Until Bids Made Public
Enron Corp.'s manipulation of the California energy market in 2000 and 2001 is notorious. Electricity bills soared and blackouts affected hundreds of thousands of people as contemptuous traders with Enron, a power wholesaler, delighted in their scheme. Tapes of traders released in 2004 contained infuriating nuggets like this: "Just cut 'em off... They should just bring back f------ horses and carriages, f------ lamps, f------ kerosene lamps."
After investigating the scandal, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) concluded that "supply-demand imbalance, flawed market design and inconsistent rules made possible significant market manipulation," and that many of Enron's trading strategies ...
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