Thursday, January 09, 2003
Western Energy Crisis

FERC Asked to Increase Refund of Energy Company Overcharges to California

Rep. Waxman joined with 32 California Democratic colleagues to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to substantially increase the refund to California proposed by a FERC judge for energy company overcharges. The judge had found that California was due $1.8 billion in refunds, but owed energy suppliers $3 billion. Some energy companies have admitted that they manipulated energy markets during the 2000-2001 energy crisis, and evidence has consistently indicated that California consumers have been gouged tens of billions of dollars by the energy industry.