NEWS: California Sues PNM Over 2000-01 Energy Crisis

While the California energy crisis of 2000 - 2001 may be a memory for many, the related legal wrangling, which is not limited to the prosecution of Enron executives, continues to this day. The attorney general of California announced this week that he is suing a pair of energy companies that may have profited at California's expense. The lawsuit alleges that PNM and Powerex illegally manipulated energy prices in California in 2000 and 2001. If California prevails, the monetary damages would be enormous.



Clearly, California's energy crisis was fueled by predatory energy companies like Enron. It appears possible that other companies like PNM and Powerex may have had some involvement as well.

However, the severity of the "crisis" could have been lessened if CA had had a sane energy policy in the first place.

PNM is my energy company, so i really hope they don't get grilled too badly, because surely the cost will be passed on to the customers, even those in California.

HI Grady,

That's a shame. I'm sorry there's no true justice, otherwise some of the company bigwigs would get get stuck with it and by juris fiat, be unable to pass the differences on to the customers. Still like to see the company get it in the end, so to speak, but not the customers.

[edit on 20-5-2005 by sigung86]

They shouldn't only fine the company, they should take the executives who were in charge at that time out for a nice old fashion execution. 10 guys with rifles, one contains a blank, and then pile them up and bury in an unmarked grave somewhere. That's what they deserve.

What about the fact that California still owes British Columbia over $250 Millions for electricity from 5 years ago and the bill is still climbing. Not our problem they had a poor energy plan and they got caught and now have to pay for that problem.

What about the spineless CA politicians who failed to address the problem before the rolling blackouts began? Gov. Davis took a fall, but many in the legislature were equally culpable.

What sucks is, any "grilling" will not seriously affect the personal profts of those who made the decisions, even if they're still working there. Their pensions and retirement and salaries won't personally take the brunt..employees and the "corporation" entity will.

Even worse, is that the public who was grossly overcharged won't see pennies on the dollar of the lawsuit, or the overcharge. Lawyers will make the profit, the corportate decision makers will walk free, and the people get the shaft.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
PNM is my energy company, so i really hope they don't get grilled too badly, because surely the cost will be passed on to the customers, even those in California.

The "rolling blackouts" were a joke. A lot like those government hype stories about budgets not being passed on time so all "non essential services" would be shut down. And the only service to get the shut down order was Parks and Recreation, every little thing else was considered "essential".

With the blackouts, downtown San Jose was listed in such a way that it would (and did) never suffer the blackout. The airport area, the transit systems, hospitals, major businesses, and government offices were unaffected, and their region (which was supposed to be cycled through) never came up.

South San Jose just happend to come up twice in less than a week.

This season, and last, even with no new major power plants coming online, there was no need dor these blackouts. What changed, besides the exposure of massive corruption, mismanagement, and outright theft? Nothing infrastructure wise.

Now imagine this same government-created phantom happening on a population forced to own electric vehicles. No one would be able to move, population nice and contained, and a perfectly plausable excuse given.

Amazing the control we give government-local, county, state and federal, in the name of environmentalism, or social reform, or many pet causes these days.

Originally posted by ChemicalLaser
What about the spineless CA politicians who failed to address the problem before the rolling blackouts began? Gov. Davis took a fall, but many in the legislature were equally culpable.