By: Scott DiSavino |
The U.S. subsidiary of French energy firm GDF Suez SA has been under investigation by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in recent months over its trading activity in the Texas power market, according to trade publication Energy Risk.
Officials at both GDF Suez and the CFTC were not immediately available to comment.
The probe has been underway since at least late 2013, led by attorneys from the CFTC’s Chicago office, according to Energy Risk, which cited people familiar with the situation.
As part of the inquiry, the CFTC has been conducting depositions with managers at Houston-based GDF Suez Energy North America, according to the article.
Energy Risk said the CFTC investigation revolves around GDF Suez’s bidding activities in the Texas electricity market, run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. GDF Suez owns natural gas- and coal-fired power plants in Texas with generation capacity totaling roughly 4,000 megawatts, the article said.