Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger Should Come Clean About Ken Lay Meeting Or Face

Gov.-elect Schwarzenegger Should Come Clean About Ken Lay Meeting Or Face Inquiry, Group Says
Energy Deregulation Agenda Criticized
Santa Monica, CA -- Governor-elect Schwarzenegger must explain the substance of his private May 2001 meeting with Enron chief Ken Lay, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) wrote in a letter to Schwarzenegger today. Read the letter. FTCR, which was the state's most vocal critic of Governor Davis' handling of the energy crisis, said that if the governor-elect did not recount the meeting by the time of his inauguration, the group would ask state lawmakers to open an investigation to uncover the substance of the meeting, including any information that might further the state's efforts to return billions of dollars that taxpayers and consumers overpaid for electricity during the energy crisis.

"A meeting with the biggest corporate crook in recent memory, while he and his firm were in the midst of ripping off the state, should not be taken lightly," FTCR wrote. "As Governor, you must explain to Californians what you were doing at that meeting, what information Ken Lay shared with you and how the meeting has influenced your thinking on energy issues."

In addition to calling on Schwarzenegger to come clean about the meeting with Ken Lay, the group highlighted key aspects of the governor-elect's energy program that reflect an Enron-perspective on energy policy. In the letter, FTCR asked Schwarzenegger to rewrite his energy policy and remove his push for further energy deregulation.

The policy proposals, available online at www.joinarnold.com, call for the expansion of California's failed experiment with electricity deregulation, including a dramatic ceding of power from state regulation to federal control. Schwarzenegger also proposes to dismantle the California Power Authority, which FTCR identifies as the "state's last line of defense against a real or manufactured energy shortage."

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/utilities/pr/pr003735.php3#letter