Doubts Raised on Enron Tapes

Telephone transcripts of Enron Corp. traders gloating about stealing money from “Grandma Millie” during California’s energy crisis might not offer new evidence of illegal behavior, the head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Wednesday.

The transcripts and audio tapes in which Enron traders discuss ways to gouge California customers during the state’s 2000-01 crisis have renewed the call for refunds at FERC.

But FERC Chairman Patrick Wood III questioned whether the tapes presented actionable new evidence.

Gloating over something happening “is not the same as pulling a trigger,” Wood told reporters after a monthly FERC meeting. “It’s odious and probably very offensive, but is it something that we remedy here under the Federal Power Act? I guess that’s the question.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and other lawmakers have asked FERC to revoke the power trader’s authority to sell electricity back to Jan. 1, 2000.

Feinstein has argued that such a move would allow the agency to order $1.8 billion in refunds from Enron, far more than the $32.5 million a FERC judge has recommended.

But Wood said the agency had no power to order retroactive refunds.

“The law requires a prospective remedy,” he said.

In June, a small municipal utility in Washington state released copies of the Enron trader telephone transcripts as part of its effort to recover millions of dollars in alleged overcharges.

Enron has declined to comment on the transcripts, saying that it is cooperating with all federal investigations.