Memo Shows Enron Division Headed by Army Secretary Thomas White Manipulated California Electricity Market

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In light of a memo indicating that Army Secretary Thomas White’s former Enron division was involved in market manipulation and price-gouging during the California electricity crisis, Public Citizen today called for White to resign immediately and the Justice Department to initiate a criminal probe.

The internal company memo describes how White’s division, Enron Energy Services, lied to California officials, enabling the company to charge prices far higher than should have been allowed. As a direct result of his division’s fraud, White is a multimillionaire and California consumers still are paying far too much for their electricity.

The Dec. 6, 2000, memo from Enron attorneys describes how Enron Energy Services deliberately sought from the state’s power broker far more electricity capacity than it needed. By doing so, Enron Energy Services, which was colluding with other Enron divisions, deceived the state into thinking that transmission capacity was full, enabling Enron to charge prices far higher than if capacity was not full.