Wright & Talisman PC (O) (M)

Transcription

1 Arnold Podgorsky Wright & Talisman PC (O) (M)

2 Three statutory areas of concern: Federal Power Act Commodity Exchange Act Antitrust Laws These laws are intended to preserve free competition by helping to assure functional markets and trade without improper restraints WSPP urges compliance, consistent with its mission i to promote and support competition 2

3 This presentation briefly guides WSPP event participants about conduct to avoid at WSPP events The do s anddon tsdon in this guide are prudent, but are not legal advice about the consequences of any particular action If you have a concern about a particular matter that could come under any of the areas discussed in this presentation, it is best to consult with legal counsel 3

4 FPA Anti-Manipulation Prohibits an entity, directly or indirectly, from using or employing, in connection with the purchase or sale of electric energy or transmission services subject to FERC jurisdiction, any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance. 16 U.S.C. 824v(a) 4

5 Commodity Exchange Act Anti-Manipulation Rule Prohibits any person from manipulating or attempting to manipulate the price of any commodity in interstate commerce (including off exchange commodity trades), or for future delivery on or subject to the rules of a registered exchange. 7 U.S.C. 13(a)(2) 5

6 The Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts, and other State t and Federal laws prohibit conduct that restrains trade Some examples are price fixing, allocations to allocate geographic or product markets, closing out a particular technology or product, and agreements not to do business with certain market participants WSPP meetings may lawfully address matters of industry concern. But Members must not pursue actions that would tend unreasonably to restrain commerce Following is a guide about what to avoid 6

7 Don t fix or agree to restrict the prices charged or paid for goods or services, including pricing formulae or methodologies, or specific profit levels Don t exchange data concerning prices, production levels and costs, or customer credit (exchange of aggregated data for past transactions may be lawful) Don t discuss whether a company s pricing practices are unethical or improper Don t coordinate bids or RFPs Don t allocate geographic markets, sales territories, product markets, or customers, between or among members Don t fix or set terms and conditions of sales (other than bilateral arrangements or in the FERC- regulated umbrella agreement) 7

8 Don t encourage boycotts of, or improper discrimination against, products or particular market participants Don t initiate or encourage refusals to deal Don t purposely hinder the competitive efforts of particular industry participants or a market sector Don t jointly compile any list of approved customers or suppliers Don t agree to standards or codes that eliminate or stifle competition (though, standards and codes may be permissible if demonstrably needed for reliability and safety, or to facilitate commerce) 8

9 Don t agree to limits on production levels, set targets for production of products or levels of production, or otherwise restrict the availability of products or services Don t condition or tie the purchase of one product or service to the purchase of another product or service 9

10 Violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act can be criminal felonies with penalties of up to $1 million for corporations and by imprisonment of up to 3yearsor penalties of up to $100,000, or both, for individuals. The Clayton Antitrust Act (said to have put teeth into the Sherman Act) permits an aggrieved company to sue to collect treble damages (three times the amount of the actual loss) due to antitrust violations. 10

11 Commodity Exchange Act Anti-Manipulation Rule: Manipulation is a felony, potentially punishable by up to $1 million and/or imprisonment up to 10 years 11

12 Market manipulation and antitrust violations are serious business Take these guidelines seriously. Speak with your company s legal counsel about its own antitrust compliance policies Life is short violating these laws is not worth the risk /// 12