Avista Settles Charges of Price Manipulation

Avista Corp., an owner of utilities in the U.S. Northwest, agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle charges that its energy-trading unit manipulated Western electricity prices in 1998, federal regulators said.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused Avista Energy Inc. traders of manipulating settlement prices for electricity futures to profit on trades in the over-the-counter market.

The contracts were based on settlement prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange for electricity delivered to Palo Verde, Ariz., and the California-Oregon border, according to the CFTC. The trades took place on four dates between April 1998 and August 1998.

Avista said it did not admit or deny the CFTC allegations.

Shares of Avista fell 25 cents to $17.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.