EPMI won a moral as well as financial victory today in the continuing MAPP 
refund proceeding.  In response to EPMI's protest of MAPP's refund report, 
FERC issued an order rejecting MAPP's report, finding that MAPP erred in 
failing to make total refunds to EPMI and others.  As you may recall, in 
response to the complaint filed by EPMI in 1997, FERC issued an order in 
April, 1999, finding that MAPP had overcharged EPMI and other transmission 
customers for transmission service.  FERC ordered MAPP to make refunds to 
EPMI and the other transmission customers.  

In order to make refund payments to customers, MAPP sought payment from its 
transmission owning members.  One transmission owning member, Nebraska Public 
Power District (NPPD), refused to pay MAPP, arguing that it is a 
non-jurisidictional entity and should not have to pay FERC-ordered refunds.  
Because NPPD refused to pay MAPP, MAPP refused to refund to transmission 
customers those amounts assessed against NPPD.  When MAPP filed its refund 
report with FERC (as required by FERC in the April order), MAPP stated that 
it was not refunding those amounts owed by NPPD.  EPMI protested MAPP's 
report, arguing that MAPP is responsible for paying the full amount of 
refunds, regardless of its dispute with NPPD.

In its order issued today, FERC rejects MAPP's filing, stating that "[w]e 
agree with Enron."  (This may be the first time FERC has ever uttered that 
phrase.)  FERC states that Enron and the other customers are entitled to the 
full amount of refunds, and MAPP cannot use its dispute with NPPD to escape 
its obligation to pay full refunds.  While FERC does not address the issue of 
whether MAPP is a public utility itself (an argument we made in our protest), 
FERC does state that it has the authority to order MAPP's jurisdictional 
public utility members (through MAPP) to pay the full amount of refunds owed. 
 FERC directs MAPP to refund the full amounts owed and to submit a revised 
refund report.