Guilty Verdict Not Justice for California Consumers

May 25, 2006, San Francisco -- Today's announcement of a guilty verdict in the trials of Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, while gratifying, is not justice for California. TURN, The Utility Reform Network, said today that justice for California consumers requires refunds and a commitment from the Governor to declare that there will be no more future attempts to deregulate electricity. "California allowed these corporate criminals to drive policy decisions, and the results were disastrous," said TURN's executive director Bob Finkelstein. "The Legislature and Governor should mark today's verdict with a commitment to never go down the disastrous road to deregulation again" Finkelstein said Californians could end up paying for Lay's crimes for as long as he does, if not longer. "While Lay is locked up in prison, consumers will continue to be locked into the higher rates that are the direct result of his crimes," he said. "Lay's guilty verdicts won't make the billions of dollars in overcharges and rate hikes that customers are paying today go away." Finkelstein added that the failure of regulators at both the state and federal level to aggressively protect consumers have left California consumers paying a hefty tab for Lay's crimes.