Healey reviewing study claiming utilities linked to $3.6B scheme
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is reviewing a “concerning” new study that claims two New England utilities throttled $3.6 billion out of ratepayers — an apparent case of market manipulation that industry experts say echoed the Enron scandal.
The study, released by the Environment Defense Fund, alleges Eversource Energy and Avangrid reserved more natural gas than they needed, especially during the cold winter months, and then dumped the gas too late in the day for power plants to buy it up.
The artificial fuel scarcity drove up energy prices to the tune of $3.6 billion for natural gas and electricity customers over three years, including during the polar vortex in 2013 and 2014, the study finds.
Andy Weissman, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C., law firm Pillsbury, told the Herald the claims are a “nightmare” for the two companies and are likely to cause significant inquiries at the state and federal level.
“I’m hard pressed to think of any other parallel action of withholding of capacity to energy infrastructure or any episode anywhere with comparable impact on end users except for the California energy crisis in 2000 and 2001 and the claims made against Enron,” he said.
Healey’s office said the “allegations in the report are concerning and require careful assessment and analysis,” according to spokeswoman Chloe Gotsis.
But the utilities pushed back on the explosive claims.
James Daly, Eversource’s head of energy supply, blasted the report as “totally contrived.”
“It’s inaccurate, and it’s basically irresponsible,” Daly told the Herald yesterday. “These so-called experts don’t seem to understand how the business works.”