Dynegy among 5 energy companies under investigation

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Houston Chronicle/ Associated Press

Sept. 17, 2007, 12:08AM
Dynegy among 5 energy companies under investigation
Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating five major energy companies, including Houston-based Dynegy Inc., to determine if plans to create coal-fired power plants present an undisclosed financial risk to investors.

Cuomo used the Martin Act — the same state securities law that Gov. Eliot Spitzer used to investigate corruption on Wall Street — when he sent subpoenas seeking internal documents to Dynegy, AES Corp., Dominion Resources Inc., Peabody Energy Corp. and Xcel Energy Inc.

In letters accompanying the subpoenas, the attorney general's office suggested that the companies could take a financial hit if federal lawmakers tighten controls on coal-fired plants, which emit carbon dioxide, among the pollutants scientists have linked to global warming.

The letters questioned whether investors in the energy companies had been adequately informed about the potential risk of developing plants that might hurt the environment.

The investigation could be viewed by some as an unusual attempt to use securities law to advance an environmental agenda.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5139937.html

[Demeter]

1. And the World Could End, Too

The odds of Congress actually regulating anything are vanishingly small. Even with the GOP fading away, the Democrats in office don't seem eager to do their job.