Pressure group calls for debarment of Reliant’s US Dept of Defense contracts

Public Citizen, the Washington DC-based pressure group, has called for the debarment of Reliant Energy from its newly awarded $35.9 million electricity contract by the US Department of Defense while it is under federal indictment for its role in creating the California energy crisis.

Reliant has just been designated as the sole electricity provider to several military installations, including Andrews Air Force base in Maryland and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. The contract takes effect as of July 1.

In April 2004, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) obtained an indictment of Reliant for price-gouging California consumers during the energy crisis in 2000-2001. The company is accused of shutting down power plants to increase energy prices before the