Enron Ascending

Acknowledgments

The present history owes much to my 16-year career at Enron (1985–2001), the first part of which was at Transwestern Pipeline, an interstate transmission system delivering natural gas from Texas and New Mexico to California. There, I learned firsthand about rates and terms of service under rules set by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and FERC’s changeover to mandatory open-access transmission from the prior regulatory regime. I also learned about California’s extensive energy and environmental controls—administered by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

My second phase at Enron was in a corporate-level position created just for me. As Director of Public Policy Analysis, I was involved in different legislative and regulatory issues and in preparing executive presentations, primarily for Ken Lay. In the debates over renewable energy and climate, I was Enron’s lone libertarian. As such, I was outnumbered by my conventional-wisdom colleagues, who on cue from the chairman pursued politically derived profits (a practice that economists call rent-seeking). Nevertheless, my voice was heard by a respectful Lay, who at least professed to believe in free markets.

Practically from the beginning, I took notes and retained materials with a company history in mind. I first proposed such a book to Enron’s then chief of staff, Ed Segner, ...