By Ted Caddell

FERC has charged a Pennsylvania-based power trading company with manipulating the PJM wholesale market by making risk-free up-to-congestion trades in the summer of 2010.

The Notice of Alleged Violation said Coaltrain Energy of Landenberg, Pa., executed up-to-congestion transactions “that were designed to falsely appear to be spread trades but that were in fact a vehicle to collect” line-loss payments from PJM. It said the company “sought not to profit from changes in price spreads but rather to profit by clearing large volumes of up-to-congestion transactions.”

Coaltrain is the third company FERC has charged recently with such trading violations, following actions against Powhatan Energy Fund of Pennsylvania and Florida-based City Power Marketing last year.

The notice named principal owners Peter Jones and Shawn Sheehan, along with traders Jeff Miller, Robert Jones, Jack Wells and Adam Hughes.

According to their LinkedIn profiles, and PJM and FERC records, Sheehan and Hughes are currently affiliated with XO Energy, a PJM member, and formerly worked at Energy Endeavors, another company that PJM has accused of manipulative UTC trades. XO and Energy Endeavors have listed the same Landenberg address as Coaltrain.

Jones also was affiliated with Energy Endeavors.

PJM sued Energy Endeavors in Delaware Superior Court seeking the return of more than $6 million in line-loss profits. The same complaint sought $17 million from City Power Marketing. The docket lists no filings since 2013, when the court denied the defendants’ request to stay the proceedings. PJM’s most recent financial statement indicates it is still attempting to collect the money — among a total of $28 million in defaults resulting from line-loss payments later questioned by FERC.

Energy Endeavors asked FERC in 2011 to cancel its market-based rate authority, saying it had ceased trading activities.

Sheehan did not immediately return a call for comment.