EIA taken to task for frequent weekly gas storage report revisions.(Energy Information Administration )

WASHINGTON, DC -- The mistrust and suspicion that took root with the California energy crisis and was confirmed in the minds of many by the collapse of Enron and subsequent revelations has tainted virtually every nook and cranny of the energy industry.

Government agencies, once thought of as watchdogs, have lost credibility along with the corporate entities they were created to oversee. The General Accounting Office (GAO) in June released a report that suggested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was not only understaffed but that it might not be a match for wily energy producers intent on misleading it.

Now it seems that the same malady has struck another government agency--the Energy Information Administration (ETA), an independent statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Controversy Not Expected

The weekly U.S. natural gas storage report (WNGSR) has long been used by gas companies and energy traders as an indicator of supply and demand and to anticipate the direction of natural gas prices, so when the Energy Information Administration (EIA) took over publishing the report from the American Gas Association (AGA) earlier this year, controversy was something not particularly expected.

However, many of those who rely on the information became concerned by the number of revisions that began appearing and the timing of those changes. Such was the mistrust of energy companies in general that it shouldn't have been a surprise that market participants went so far as to suggest--without evidence--that gas providers might be attempting to manipulate the market.

One trader, in response to EIA's request for comments, said, "What I take issue with is the EIA's apparent acceptance that revisions are a part of the reporting process and should be expected in the normal course of business. I have traded and/or marketed natural gas since 1991 and the current level and consistency of revisions are unprecedented.