CFTC Echoes Arguments of Alleged Manipulators of the Gas Futures Market

September 18, 2007

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may soon be an indirect supporter of efforts by Amaranth Advisors (Amaranth), Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), and trader Brian Hunter to derail the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) use of its expanded civil penalty authority to prosecute alleged attempts to manipulate natural gas futures prices. Reports this week revealed that the CFTC intends to argue before a US District Court in New York that FERC's penalty authority for energy market manipulation does not extend to the futures market. If so, then the CFTC would be echoing the defenses of Amaranth, ETP and Brian Hunter in their respective challenges to FERC's jurisdiction over the weeks since FERC issued its show-cause orders for multi-million dollar penalties in each case.

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posted Friday, September 14, 2007 8:19 AM by Jennifer Rinker

Southeastern Group Undertakes Transmission Planning

A group of utilities in the southeast—where utilities have to date resisted forming regional transmission organizations—have announced a proposal to develop an interrogational transmission planning process.  Under the plan to be released September 14, the utilities will work jointly to collect data, coordinate planning assumptions and address stakeholder study requests.  The coordinated efforts will provide a centralized information source for transmission users, who will no longer have to consult each transmission owner separately.  The effort answers FERC's Order No. 890, which mandated broader regional coordination of transmission planning.

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posted Thursday, September 13, 2007 10:18 AM by Tracy Davis