Washington State

Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General

Bob Ferguson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Attorney General distributes Enron settlement money this week

SEATTLE – It’s payback time for Enron, Attorney General Rob McKenna announced today. The Attorney General’s Office sent more than $9 million this week to programs that will benefit utility customers who were gouged by the manufactured energy crisis of 2000-2001.

“How fitting that Enron will pay to provide warmth to low-income families and to help Washington residents make their homes more energy-efficient,” McKenna said. “These programs are especially needed in today’s economy and will benefit those least able to bear the burden of higher power bills.”

Enron reportedly made nearly $2 billion in profits from its electricity trading operations in the Western states during 2000 and 2001. Attorneys general from several Westerns states investigated whether Enron traders manipulated the energy market. They uncovered schemes dubbed with such colorful names as “Death Star,” “Fat Boy,” “Get Shorty,” “Ricochet,” and “Load Shift.”

The states of Washington, California and Oregon, as well as some California utilities and other organizations, settled with Enron for $1.52 billion in summer 2005.

“Although our settlement with Enron called for significant consumer restitution, we expected to receive only pennies on the dollar due to the company’s bankruptcy,” McKenna said. “In the end, we were able to recover nearly half of the $22.5 million we were owed under the settlement. That’s more than anyone expected.”

Nearly $6 million in checks was sent to utilities in Washington. Rather than distribute small refunds to individuals, the money will be used to help reduce heating expenses for low-income households and support weatherization programs that improve heating efficiency. Allocations were made based on the number of customers served by each utility.

Businesses will also benefit from the settlement. A little more than $1.6 million will help fund a Battelle program that teaches commercial building owners how to make their structures more energy-efficient.

More than $1.2 million was sent to the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. Experts there conduct energy audits and teach businesses how to become more energy-efficient. Industrial customers benefit from that assistance.

Battelle and WSU were chosen as grant recipients by a blue-ribbon committee comprised of stakeholders and legislators.

To date, the Attorney General’s Office has distributed nearly $45 million from its settlements with Duke Energy, El Paso, Reliant, Williams and, now, Enron.

McKenna thanks the Attorney General’s Antitrust Division for it role in reaching the settlements and distributing funds.

The following utilities and programs will receive money from the Enron settlement:

 

Recipient

 Amount

Alder Mutual Light Co., Inc.

 $ 565.62

Avista Utilities

 $463,187.00

Benton PUD (pending)

 $86,941.09

Benton Rural Electric Association

$24,067.91

Big Bend Electric Cooperative, Inc.

$9,909.53

Blaine City Light

$5,331.10

Centralia City Light

$21,600.55

Chelan County PUD #1

 $78,708.39

Cheney, City of

$9,016.56

Chewelah, City of

$2,449.55

Clallam County PUD #1 (pending)

$59,724.40

Clark Public Utilities

$370,772.29

Clearwater Power Company

$1,899.51

Columbia Rural Electric

$5,988.03

Cowlitz County PUD #1

$95,692.65

Douglas County PUD #1

 $40,437.56

Eatonville, Town of

 $ 4,899.09

Ellensburg – Energy Services

$17,182.46

Elmhurst Mutual Power & Light Company

$28,949.19

Ferry County PUD #1

$6,791.92

Franklin County PUD #1

$44,831.16

Grant County PUD #1

 $77,940.12

Grays Harbor County PUD #1

 $ 77,301.01

Inland Power & Light

$78,291.96

Kittitas County PUD #1

 $ 7,814.05

Klickitat PUD

$21,970.21

Lakeview Light & Power

$16,311.75

Lewis County PUD #1

 $68,879.02

Mason County PUD  #1

$10,314.82

Mason County PUD #3

$67,404.84

McCleary, City of

 $2,226.86

Milton, City of

$7,468.89

Modern Electric Water Company

$16,988.72

Nespelem Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.

$2,226.86

Ohop Mutual Light Company

$8,684.76

Okanogan County Electric Cooperative

$7,711.62

Okanogan County PUD #1

 $37,059.41

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative

$24,495.47

Pacific County PUD #2

 $33,180.22

PacifiCorp, d.b.a. Pacific Power

$228,658.50

Parkland Light & Water Co.

$8,239.38

Pend Oreille County PUD #1

$17,478.63

Peninsula Light Company

$59,880.28

Port Angeles, City of (pending)

$19,507.30

Puget Sound Energy, Inc.

 $2,105,988.82

Richland – Energy Services

 $ 45,650.64

Rushton, Town of

 $ 734.86

Seattle City Light

 $793,539.54

Skamania PUD

 $13,456.92

Snohomish County PUD # 1

 $641,707.73

Steilacoom, Town of

 $ 6,012.52

Sumas Water & Lights Department

 $1,180.24

Tacoma Public Utilities, Tacoma Power

 $329,675.58

Tanner Electric Coop

 $9,352.81

Vera Water & Power

 $ 19,496.16

Wahkiakum County PUD #1

 $4,384.69

Total for Utilities

 $6,250,160.78

 

 

Battelle

$1,625,261.12

WSU Extension Energy Program

$1,237.449.08

Total Distributed

$ 9,112,870.98

 

 


Media Contact: Kristin Alexander, Media Relations Manager – Seattle, (206) 464-6432

 

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