SF, Santa Clara Sue Over Natural Gas Prices

[Kadie]

SF, Santa Clara Sue Over Natural Gas Prices

POSTED: 10:32 am PDT July 9, 2004

UNDATED -- San Francisco and Santa Clara counties have filed lawsuits accusing energy giants such as Reliant, Dynergy and Sempra Energy of illegally manipulating natural gas prices.

The lawsuits were filed in San Diego, headquarters of a number of the companies, on Thursday. They accuse the companies of gouging California consumers and taxpayers out of billions of dollars.

"These gas providers knowingly and fraudulently worked in concert to send the retail price of natural gas skyrocketing," Santa Clara County Counsel Ann Ravel said. "California residents were hit twice, first as individual rate payers and then as taxpayers who bear the cost for public facilities."

The defendants allegedly reported false sales to the publishers of the industry's natural gas price indices, which resulted in natural gas prices being driven upward, according to the lawsuits.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/3511558/detail.html