Energy bill introduced to increase transparency

Washington, D.C.-U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) on Feb. 13 joined with a bipartisan coalition to introduce legislation to increase transparency and oversight for the electronic over-the-counter trading of energy commodities such as oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity. Specifically, the bill would require U.S. energy traders who electronically trade futures in the U.S. to keep records and report large positions carried by their market participants in energy commodities for five years or longer, and to provide these records to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) or the Justice Department upon request. These are the same requirements that apply to traders who do business on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The bill would also require persons in the U.S. who trade U.S. energy commodities delivered in the U.S. on foreign futures exchanges to keep similar records and report large trades.