Enron power scams began years before energy crunch

EVERETT, Washington (AP) - Fallen energy giant Enron Corp. was running scams to drive up the cost of power years before the 2000-01 U.S. West Coast energy crisis, according to audio transcripts and documents unveiled by a public utility north of Seattle. 

By November 1997, Enron apparently knew of loopholes in California's ill-advised deregulation plan, and by May 1998 - a month after the plan took effect - Enron was already falsifying transmission schedules to inflate prices, Snohomish County Public Utility District officials said Thursday as they unveiled new evidence at a news conference.