Cal-PX subpoenaed over price spikes
  
10/02/2000 
The Energy Report 
(c) Copyright 2000 Pasha Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 
The California Power Exchange (Cal-PX) has responded to subpoenas from 
several federal and state bodies investigating the price surges that hit 
California's wholesale market this summer, according to state officials. 
FERC, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Attorney 
General, the California Electricity Oversight Board and auditors from the 
Joint Legislative Audit Committee of the California State Legislature are 
currently conducting investigations into electricity deals and pricing 
practices in the wholesale energy market during the summer. All of the 
agencies have issued different subpoenas demanding the release of documents 
pertaining to market conditions and participants. 
A Cal-PX spokesman called the subpoenas "no big deal" and said they are 
served to protect the confidentiality of the information given to the various 
agencies. Information about specific marketers and their methods could be 
detrimental if it were released to the public, the spokesman added. Attorneys 
for the Cal-PX have been cooperating with the different bodies conducting the 
investigations. Initially the agencies had announced they would work together 
on their investigations, but the need to issue separate subpoenas for the 
release of information demands that the bodies proceed individually. In 
addition, some of the agencies have needed to issue more than one subpoena to 
receive different records, contributing to the paper trail arriving at the 
Cal-PX.