US FERC to raise profile of enforcement activities

Washington (Platts)--5Apr2006

The proposed reorganization of the US Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission's market oversight functions into a new Office of Enforcement
reflects the "heightened role that Congress gave to us" in enforcement,
according to office Director Susan Court.

FERC is to revamp its Office of Market Oversight and Investigations in a
move expected to be completed in the next few weeks and also plans to raise
the division's staffing levels, it said.

The new office is to comprise of four divisions: Enforcement, Audits,
Financial Regulation and Energy Market Oversight.

During a teleconference with reporters, Court said that while the Energy
Policy Act gave FERC greater enforcement duties, the "oversight role is as
important today as it was when the office of OMOI was first created, in fact,
probably even more so."

Court called the reorganization plan, which is going through the FERC
employee union's review process, a "better allocation of resources."

"The previous organization was, honestly, kind of lopsided," she said. "I
found it to be in many respects...an inefficient allocation of the resources
that we had."

Among the notable changes is separation of the investigation and audit
functions into discrete divisions because they are "governed by very different
sets of rules," Court said.

OMOI currently has 139 staffers and plans to hire an additional 11 in the
current fiscal year and more next year.

The reorganization shows "how enforcement is a more important part of
what we do," said Chairman Joseph Kelliher, and "will demonstrate we are
strengthening our enforcement capability. Our oversight will focus more
sharply on identifying market manipulation and the exercise of market power."

"The strength and benefits of the market oversight function was clearly
demonstrated with the staff's vigilance this winter on gas prices," he added.

For more information, take a trial to Platts Inside FERC at
http://insideFERC.platts.com.


 

Copyright © 2005 - Platts

Please visit:  www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.