Washington (Platts)--26Apr2012/209 pm EDT/1809 GMT
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been clear on what constitutes market manipulation in the wake of a record-setting settlement on the issue, Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said Thursday. The commission recently reached a $245 million settlement with Constellation Energy Commodities Group over the company's trading practices. Since then, some industry watchers have said there should be more clarity on the definition of manipulation. But Wellinghoff disagreed. "I think anybody who reads the Constellation case can get hopefully a very clear signal of what is manipulation," he said told reporters. "You can't lose a whole bunch of money in one market, a financial market, to in essence gain substantial amounts of money in a physical market," he added. Article continues below... Request a free trial of: Electric Power Daily No other daily publication delivers so complete an account of North American power industry news as Electric Power Daily. For those who need solid grounding every day in this complex arena where so much is at stake, Electric Power Daily is a must read.
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been clear on what constitutes market manipulation in the wake of a record-setting settlement on the issue, Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said Thursday. The commission recently reached a $245 million settlement with Constellation Energy Commodities Group over the company's trading practices. Since then, some industry watchers have said there should be more clarity on the definition of manipulation. But Wellinghoff disagreed. "I think anybody who reads the Constellation case can get hopefully a very clear signal of what is manipulation," he said told reporters. "You can't lose a whole bunch of money in one market, a financial market, to in essence gain substantial amounts of money in a physical market," he added.
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No other daily publication delivers so complete an account of North American power industry news as Electric Power Daily. For those who need solid grounding every day in this complex arena where so much is at stake, Electric Power Daily is a must read.
"So if somebody thinks its not clear, that may be their problem and not ours." In the Constellation case, FERC staff said the company engaged in virtual transactions in New York Independent System Operator's control area and scheduled day-ahead physical flows between NYISO, PJM Interconnection, Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator or ISO New England. Staff charged that Constellation engaged in manipulation that led to losses to market participants who bought and sold energy in the day-ahead markets of ISO-NE and NYISO.--Kate Winston, catherine_winston@platts.com
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