Government Investigations

EIB Energy Highlights: Dakota Access & Keystone XL Pipelines Revived, FERC on Energy Storage & Pipeline Rates & More

FERC – CFTC Interagency Surveillance and Data Analytics Working Group

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently announced the formation of an interagency Surveillance and Data Analytics Working Group as one of the next steps to further coordination of the agencies’ energy market surveillance and enforcement efforts as required by the Dodd-Frank Act.  The working group will coordinate information … Continue reading →

Will Congressional Pressure on the CFTC to Share Information With FERC Bear Fruit?

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) has identified ferreting out energy market manipulation as a priority in its enforcement efforts.  On January 2, 2014, FERC and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) signed two Memoranda of Understanding (“MOUs”) that address the agencies’ jurisdictional overlap and sharing of information related to the agencies’ market surveillance … Continue reading →

The CFTC and FERC Began the New Year with Steps toward Enforcement Coordination via MOUs on Jurisdiction and Information Sharing

Several months ago we discussed the lack of coordination between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regarding energy market enforcement activities.  See our previous post: Barriers to Cooperation between the CFTC and FERC Hinder Investigations into Energy Market Manipulation – A Legislative Fix May be on the Horizon.  … Continue reading →

The Investigative and Enforcement Priorities of the FERC Office of Enforcement

            The past year has been marked by several record-breaking penalties imposed on companies and individuals by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) for alleged misconduct in the energy markets.  On November 21, 2013, the FERC Office of Enforcement (“OE”) released its 2013 Report on Enforcement (Docket No. AD07-13-006) (the “Report”), which discusses the OE’s … Continue reading →

The Criminal Side of Fracking: Individuals and Companies Face State and Federal Criminal Charges related to Handling and Disposal of Waste from Hydraulic Fracturing

            On Monday, October 28, 2013, the Clean Water Action national environmental organization (“CWA”) filed a federal civil lawsuit against Waste Treatment Corporation for the alleged illegal disposal of hundreds of thousands of gallons of natural gas drilling waste water into the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania.  Claiming that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) … Continue reading →

Barriers to Cooperation between the CFTC and FERC Hinder Investigations into Energy Market Manipulation – A Legislative Fix May be on the Horizon

            The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) has initiated investigations into energy market manipulation in the last two years that have resulted in nearly $1 billion in penalties and profit disgorgements from companies and traders.  See our previous posts here, here, and  here.  Despite the significant enforcement efforts undertaken thus far, FERC Chairman Wellinghoff recently identified additional … Continue reading →

FERC Investigations into Energy Market Manipulation Make an Impression With Record Penalties Imposed on Companies and Individuals

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) Office of Enforcement has made an impression with its most recent efforts to police the integrity of energy markets and ferret out fraud and market manipulation.  We discussed the magnitude of FERC’s probes into these areas over the past year and half in our previous post, The Energy Markets … Continue reading →

Global Investigations Into Oil Benchmark Price Manipulation

            In the last several weeks, the European Union’s investigation into potential manipulation of oil benchmark pricing has illuminated the global impact of activity in the energy markets and related policy development.  The EU investigation, headed by the European Commissioner for Competition, is looking into whether there has been coordinated and collusive manipulation of benchmark … Continue reading →

The Energy Markets Under a Microscope: Government Investigations into Market Manipulation

            The paths of the energy industry and probing government investigations are crossing more and more often, as regulators and legislators have made it a priority to ensure the integrity of energy markets.  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), Office of Enforcement has made fraud and market manipulation one of its top four priorities, prompting … Continue reading →