6/8/2024
(Reuters) — Mexican state utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) need not pay a Texas natural gas supplier’s claim for hundreds of millions of dollars stemming from the huge spike in gas pricing during a deadly winter storm, an international arbitration panel ruled.
Severe cold during 2021’s Winter storm Uri pushed U.S. natural gas prices to record highs, as demand soared and wells and pipelines froze shut. Suppliers passed along the huge price increases to their customers, resulting in dozens of lawsuits.
A Houston arbitration panel last month rejected WhiteWater Midstream LLC’s claims against CFE, and awarded the state power utility undisclosed damages, fees and costs, according to a document filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Houston.
An attorney and a media spokesperson representing the Austin, Texas-based company, WhiteWater, declined immediate comment.
CFE’s separate breach of contract lawsuit against former executives Guillermo Turrent and Javier Gutierrez, who awarded the contract to WhiteWater, remains pending. An attorney representing Turrent and Gutierrez did not respond to requests for comment.
