Sempra, LADWP face perjury accusations over energy trading

A subsidiary of Sempra Energy and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are facing accusations that they perjured themselves over accusations of energy trading irregularities related to the 2000-01 California Energy Crisis. State Senator Joe Dunn is pushing them to come clean:

State Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana) said he would refer evidence to the Sacramento County district attorney that Sempra Energy Trading Corp. executives lied to legislative investigators in June 2002 when they denied using trading strategies — nicknamed "Fat Boy," "Ricochet" and "Death Star" by employees of Enron Corp. — to artificially boost profits. Dunn also said he would ask the Senate Energy Committee to censure Sempra for perjury, which could expose the company to a variety of punishments.

...The action by Dunn marks a revival of the Legislature's attempt to hold power sellers accountable for alleged manipulation of the semi-deregulated market it helped create in 1998. The market was supposed to deliver cheaper electricity, but it brought blackouts and soaring prices instead. State officials have asked federal energy regulators to order power sellers to return California $9 billion in overcharges.

The March 2001 internal Sempra e-mail that Dunn cited as proof that the company had used a trading scheme called "Ricochet" appears to show the involvement of the DWP as well as the power department run by Burbank.

The municipal utilities are described by a Sempra trader as potential power sellers in "two plays that have really worked out this week." The "plays" involved buying electricity and reselling it several times before finally selling it to the state, which by March 2001 had stepped in to buy electricity on behalf of nearly bankrupt private utilities.