December 27, 2002—Two congressional leaders, Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) and Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas), have asked the US Department of Energy (DOE) to study ways to prevent manipulation of natural gas prices through improved price reporting and more transparent information on gas supply and demand.
Federal energy market regulators and the US Justice Department are investigating whether several big energy firms provided false information on natural gas prices and trades to publishing companies that compile indexes on such data. Tauzin and Green told Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, “There appears to be a basic distrust of the pricing fundamentals, causing a flight of investment capital from the energy sector.”
The inquiry has been praised by the Coalition for Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (EMIT), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to reform energy markets to ensure their fairness, transparency, and openness in order to provide adequate, reliable, and affordable energy supplies for America. More details can be found on EMIT’s Web site.
