Power Generators Threatened By Contempt Sanctions (KFWB) 6.28.01, 7:40a --

A California Senate investigatory committee may move to find power generators in contempt today, if they do not turn over subpoenaed documents.

The Senate Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation asked for documents April 5 and has yet to receive them. In early June, the Senate's Rules Committee issued subpoenas for documents on bidding, pricing and other aspects of power sales.

Power generators have said without an acceptable confidentiality agreement, they cannot compile the documents. There is proprietary information in the documents that could adversely affect the companies in a competitive market if they were made public, power generators argue.

Power company representatives will testify today on why they should not be held in contempt.

There are no set penalties for being in contempt of Senate. The legislative body will decide what sanctions to impose.

The last time the state Senate imposed sanctions on a contempt citation was in 1929.

-- PHO (owennos@bigfoot.com), June 28, 2001

Answers

This oughta be good.

A lesson on how to shot oneself in the foot, can anyone say hookay. Power off those plants while the big boss in sitting in the pokey.

-- (perry@ofuzzy1.com), June 28, 2001.

<< last time...was in 1929 >>

Damn, it is probably coincidental only, but that year keeps coming up *everywhere* I turn (IIRC, even the last outbreak of FMD in the U.S. was 1929!).

This keeps reminding me of the Robert Heinlein short story, "The Year of the Jackpot", in which all the bad trendlines come together at once. A collapse of civilization ensues.

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), July 02, 2001.

In case anyone is interested in pursuing the 1929 parallels in the stock market, try George Ure's entertaining web site originally named "Replaying 1929 & Y2K Danger".

http://www.urbansurvival.com/

-- Warren Ketler (wrkttl@earthlink.net), July 02, 2001.