PRESS RELEASE
June 12, 2007
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ERCOT Statement Regarding Wallace Sentencing

Sam Jones
President and CEO
Electric Reliability Council of Texas 

 

Today’s court action sentencing former manager Stephen C. Wallace to 12 years in prison and $800,000 in restitution for his role in a 2003 insider contract-fraud crime ring represents the final punishment for the last of the individuals who defrauded ERCOT through a web of shell companies.   

We are pleased that we can finally say all six individuals who were indicted for their crimes against ERCOT have now been sentenced.  This is truly welcome news for the dedicated and honest employees at ERCOT who are anxious to see closure of these events.   

Once again, we want to acknowledge the hard work of the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Public Safety to see justice served and to gain full financial restitution on behalf of Texas electricity customers.

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Attorney General’s press release

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 21 million Texas customers – representing 85 percent of the state’s electric load and 75 percent of the Texas land area. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 38,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also manages financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers customer switching for 6 million Texans in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, independent generators, independent power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipal-owned electric utilities.

Contact
Dottie Roark 512-225-7024