On March 9th, FERC issued an Order approving the Stipulation and Consent Agreement that resolved an investigation into Constellation Energy Commodities Group’s (CCG) physical and financial electric energy trading activities in and around the New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO) Control Area and in other RTOs. Back in January 2008, FERC’s Office of Enforcement received [...]
Archive for the ‘Market Manipulation’ Category
7 Jun
California Wants Billions of Dollars, FERC Says “Sorry, but no.”
On May 24, 2011, FERC issued an Order dismissing a complaint filed by the California Attorney General (representing “the People of the State of California”) seeking refunds for “unjust” short-term bilateral sales made to the California Energy Resources Scheduling Division (CERS) of the California Department of Water Resources during the California Energy Crisis. The Complaint, [...]
10 May
FERC’s Proposed Data Improvements Aim to Enhance Market Monitoring and Transparency
Late last month, FERC concurrently released two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPRs) related to electronic tag (e-Tag) data associated with transactions in wholesale power markets. The first NOPR (Docket No. RM10-12-000) proposes changes to “facilitate price transparency in markets for the sale and transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce” by requiring market participants that [...]
26 Apr
Attorney General Announces Efforts to Combat Oil and Gasoline Price Fraud
A recent publication from Jones Day brought attention to the forthcoming formation of the Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, where representatives from the DOJ, the National Association of Attorneys General, the CFTC, the FTC, the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the SEC, and the Departments of Agriculture and Energy will come together to [...]
22 Apr
FERC Orders $30 Million Civil Penalty in Market Manipulation Proceeding
Yesterday FERC announced that Brian Hunter, former Amaranth Advisors LLC trader, had been ordered to pay a $30 million Civil Penalty in “the first fully litigated proceeding involving FERC’s enhanced enforcement authority under section 4A of the Natural Gas Act.” Section 4A – codified at 15 USC 717c-1 and implemented at 18 CFR 1c, the [...]
28 Feb
Preventing Insider Trading and Market Manipulation in Wholesale Energy Markets
Late last week, international law firm WilmerHale published a very thorough review of the European Commission’s (EC) recently proposed rules aimed at preventing abuse in wholesale energy markets. The proposal hopes to close gaps in the “existing regime” that were found upon inspection by the Committee of European Securities Regulators and the European Regulators Group [...]
