Ex-Energy Executive Settles Futures Case

A former vice president of Avista Energy, William H. Taylor, has agreed to pay a $155,000 fine to settle claims that he manipulated the electricity futures market, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said recently.=

Mr. Taylor manipulated the settlement prices of contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange on three days in 1998, the commission said. His actions were intended to increase Avista's net gain on its cash-settled, over-the-counter options contracts, the agency said.

Mr. Taylor, who neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing, was also barred from trading energy futures for 30 months, the commission said.

Avista Energy is a unit of the Avista Corporation of Spokane, Wash., which owns utilities in the Northeast.

Avista has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle the claims.

Bloomberg News