Although Congress has enacted legislation that will close the Enron Loophole, the New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) is pointing out that the action is not a "magic fix and prices will not drop automatically."
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) must now engage in a rulemaking that could take as much as a year or more. The Enron Loophole was used to conduct commodity trades via unregulated electronic channels. Many experts believe that this is a leading cause of explosive energy prices, NEFI stated.
The legislation was originally a part of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, which was vetoed by President Bush because it was deemed too expensive. Congress overrode the veto majorities in both the House and Senate, enacting the bill into law.