fyi - el paso el paso merchant ordered to relinquish data ferc yesterday ordered el paso merchant energy to stop stonewalling and turn over protected materials to parties involved in a complaint case in which it ' s alleged the affiliate received preferential treatment when it acquired 1 . 2 bcf / d of firm capacity on el paso natural gas . specifically , the commission denied el paso merchant ' s request for rehearing of a june 2000 order that granted in part the discovery sought by the california public utilities commission , and rejected rehearing of a september protective order . the latter directed el paso merchant to make available to all intervening parties , who agreed to the terms of the protective order , all of the materials that were being submitted to the cpuc and ferc in the case . so far , el paso merchant has refused to release the information to these parties , claiming the materials being filed with the cpuc and ferc are for " government eyes only . " it also argues that the protective order offers inadequate protection of commercially sensitive information . the commission disagreed . " el paso merchant has not substantiated or sufficiently justified its broad claim that all of the ' protected materials ' provided to cpuc and this commission warrant the designation ' government eyes only . ' indeed , all of the information that el paso merchant seeks to shield . . . relates directly to the issues , " the order said [ rpo 0 - 241 ] . also , ferc finds that the protective order provides " sufficient protection for el paso merchant ' s commercially sensitive documents . " the cpuc brought the complaint last april . it is seeking to abrogate the $ 38 million contract arrangement between el paso and el paso merchant . the agency alleges the affiliate was given " preferential treatment " by el paso during the open season for the capacity , and thus the contract arrangement should be declared void . the cpuc and others contend the contract arrangement , which awarded more than one - third of el paso ' s capacity rights to the california border to el paso merchant , is largely responsible for the high natural gas and electric prices in the state . they have urged ferc to " act immediately " on the merits of the complaint , but the commission has yet to do so .