Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 07:48:45 -0600
From: "Tracey Bradley" <tbradley@bracepatt.com>
To: "Deanna King" <dking@bracepatt.com>, "Paul Fox" <pfox@bracepatt.com>, 
"Ronald Carroll" <rcarroll@bracepatt.com>
Subject: DJ REPEAT: Class Action Suit Filed Vs Calif Pwr Producers
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Content-Disposition: inline

DJ REPEAT: Class Action Suit Filed Vs Calif Pwr Producers
Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.



LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--A class action lawsuit was filed in San Diego late 
Monday against energy companies that own and operate power plants in 
California, alleging generators unlawfully manipulated the state's power 
market, resulting in severe wholesale and retail price spikes in the state 
for consumers.

The suit names Reliant Energy Inc. (REI), Duke Energy North America (DUK), 
NRG Energy, Southern Energy Company (SO), Dynegy Inc. (DYN), AES Corp. and 
Williams Energy as defendants.

The plaintiffs are seeking at least $4 billion in damages for electricity 
supply bought through the California Power Exchange last summer.

The "class" - the plaintiffs - are defined as anybody who bought power 
through the California Power Exchange last summer, but largely represents the 
1.2 million customers of Sempra Energy unit (SRE) San Diego Gas & Electric 
Co., according to the complaint.

The complaint alleges the defendants violated antitrust laws.

The plaintiffs allege that the generators named in the suit deliberately 
withheld their power supply from the CalPX forward market, scheduled 
unplanned power plant outages and congested transmission lines last summer in 
an effort to drive up wholesale power prices.

Houston-based Reliant Energy Inc. (REI), operates five power plants in 
California. Atlanta-based Southern Company (SO) operates six generation units 
in the state; Houston-based Duke Energy (DUK) operates four power plants; 
Houston-based Dynegy (DYN) operates eight power plants in California; 
Arlington, Va.-based AES operates four, Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Energy 
operates three generation units and Minneapolis-based NRG operates eight 
power plants.

In addition, the suit claims the California Independent System Operator, 
manager of the state's high voltage transmission system, wrongfully supplied 
the Western Systems Coordinating Council, an agency that manages electricity 
reliability in the west, with real-time information about power plant outages 
and electricity generating and capacity levels that was used by generators to 
manipulate the market.

"Through the WSCC Internet web site, wholesale electricity market 
participants ... were thereby given access to real-time data as to their 
competitors' actions, although access to such data was forbidden by the ISO's 
(rules)," the complaint states.

"Starting on or about May 22, 2000, defendants used such real-time data to 
exercise market power, by among other things, reducing their (electricity) 
output, strategically underbidding supply to the forward markets and 
exporting electricity from the state in order to drive up" power prices, the 
complaint further states.

The defendants weren't immediately available for comment.

-By Jason Leopold, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3874; 
mailto:jason.leopold@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires 28-11-00

2358GMT