Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has initiated legal proceedings against Enable entities and Symmetry Energy Solutions LLC. The state contends that these companies breached the Oklahoma Antitrust Reform Act and the Oklahoma Common Carrier statute during a significant winter storm that affected the state three years ago.
A press release from Drummond's office reveals that during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, Enable entities—which comprises ET Gathering & Processing successor by merger to Enable Midstream Partners, Enable Oklahoma Intrastate Transmission, Enable Gas Transmission, and Enable Energy Resources—and Symmetry Energy were both simultaneously marketing natural gas and operating natural gas pipelines in the state.
The press release states that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prohibits interstate pipeline operators from owning the commodity they transport and market. However, there are no such federal regulations for intrastate pipelines. Although many states have implemented similar restrictions, Oklahoma has not. As detailed in the press release, without a prohibition, the state is susceptible to market manipulation and anti-competitive behavior.
According to the press release, Symmetry Energy directly supplies customers such as public schools, cities, counties, and hospitals with natural gas. Both companies count Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), Oklahoma’s largest public power utility, among their customers.
As per the press release, lawsuits filed in Osage County District Court allege that Enable and Symmetry Energy employed "a variety of tactics to drive up the index prices, including reduction of supply and submitting trades at unconscionable price levels" to impose excessively high fees on GRDA "dictated by the artificially inflated index prices." The lawsuits also claim that these companies had "counted on higher demand" when Uri arrived and "schemed to artificially reduce supply."
The press release further mentions that besides alleged law violations, the lawsuits accuse these companies of engaging in breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraud, constructive fraud, bad faith breach of contract, civil conspiracy, and negligence.
