Western Energy Crisis

WESTERN ENERGY CRISIS

Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, last night consumers in Washington State received welcome news; that is, that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decided, after 5 long years, that the ratepayers of Snohomish County, WA, do not have to pay Enron $120 million for power that it never delivered during the western energy crisis, for which it sought to charge exorbitant power rates.

The western energy crisis was certainly a tragic chapter, demonstrating corporate greed and the need to make sure we have regulatory fairness. This fight goes back to the spring of 2001. Since then, I have been working, along with my colleagues from the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the country, to make sure that ratepayers were treated fairly. There were many stops and starts in the process. There were times when our faith in the process began to erode.

But one of the high points came last summer when the Senate Energy Committee came together in an unprecedented effort to debate and pass an amendment that basically protected ratepayers throughout the country, to make sure they had a fair shot at justice. This was an important amendment I offered, which made sure that everyone understood that the federal energy regulatory authority was the proper place to decide whether utilities such as Snohomish County PUD should have to pay Enron for power at exorbitant rates, resulting from Enron's market manipulation.

I know the Chair knows this issue well and knows there were many other parts of the country that also were impacted by the same issues. That is why I want to make sure that we give thanks to all the people who played a constructive role in the debate: Certainly, I thank Senator Ensign, whose ratepayers in Nevada were facing a similar situation; of course, Senator Reid; Chairman Domenici, who ran the Energy Committee in a fair and open way that allowed us to have a serious debate. The chairman deserves credit, along with the ranking member, Senator Bingaman, for his focus on consumer protection; Senator Smith, Senator Craig and Senator Allen, Senators Wyden and Murray, and all my Democratic colleagues on the Committee.

We also had some incredible help and support from the Energy Committee counsel and staff: Chief counsel Sam Fowler and Judy Pensabene, along with other in-depth analysis from Leon Lowery and Lisa Epiphane. These staff people helped us wade through a very challenging legal issue but, in the end, made sure that federal authority stayed where it was, and that that Federal entity gave the ratepayers a chance at the important relief they needed.

The other side of the story is that of the Snohomish County PUD, this is a David and Goliath story, of a small utility that did the job of taking on a big power company. This utility said that it was not going to be forced to pay manipulated power rates. They fought for the ratepayers of their State and for justice to make sure that this never happens again to consumers in America. It shows that sometimes the little guy can win. It shows that the Snohomish County PUD fought back against this fraudulent $122 million bill, and was vindicated in the process.

It was an important battle for them to fight, for the average Snohomish County resident who would have been forced to pay over $400 additional to Enron in utility rates; and for the county's school districts that would have seen a $2.5 million increase in electricity costs. That is money that can otherwise go to hiring teachers or paying for books. And for the businesses and other ratepayers in this county who were impacted economically by the exorbitant rates we have been paying from the western energy crisis and Enron's manipulation, last night's announcement will bring a big sigh of relief.

Now we need to make sure that we get on with the task of making sure that this never happens again. When it comes to energy markets that drive our economy, aggressive consumer protection must be part of Federal regulators' overall objective, when overseeing the wholesale electricity markets. It is far better that we continue to make sure the Federal regulators do their job. If that is what Congress needs to do by passing amendments such as the Cantwell amendment, we will continue to do so.

We also took some important steps in the Energy bill last year by saying that there is a Federal ban on market manipulation; that is, when it comes to electricity markets and natural gas markets. This Senator believes there is still more to be done in other energy markets. Just this morning we woke up to news that BP North America has been indicted for manipulation of propane markets. This is a case that is just starting to be made, but we will hear the evidence.

Our work is not done until we make sure that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and other Federal agencies have all the tools they need to make sure there is transparency in energy markets; to make sure that propane, jet fuel, oil, diesel, gasoline markets, all are protected with the transparency and oversight necessary to make sure consumers aren't impacted by market manipulation. In the end, it is the American consumer and the American economy that suffer when we don't have functioning energy markets.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue to make sure that we protect consumers from exorbitant energy rates, that we do our job at the Federal level to enforce the law and uphold those standards that make these markets work and continue to help our economy grow.

Again, I thank all those who were helpful in the long process to bring justice for ratepayers in the State of Washington and all those who sought to give a good helping hand in the effort to make sure that our Federal laws were held up, implemented, and that we didn't allow this issue to continue to be punted around a variety of bankruptcy courts. But instead, we made sure that justice was delivered to the ratepayers.

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

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