Kenneth Lay's Quotes

We see ourselves as first helping to open up markets to competition.

We use competitive markets to arrange for delivery of our food supply.

We've tried to get as much supply into California as we can.

When there's uncertainty they always think there's another shoe to fall. There is no other shoe to fall.

You'd rather have a surplus versus a shortage in your position.

You'll have lower prices under deregulation than you will through regulation.

I've been a strong financial and political supporter of, first, President Bush Sr. when he was running for president, and even when he ran for president a time or two and failed.

Today, there are also buyers and sellers of all these energy commodities, just like there are buyers and sellers of food commodities and many other commodities.

Well, rates would go up whether you deregulate or not, and of course, the rates that are going up right now on the electricity side are still within the regulated framework.

Am I a fool? I don't think I'm a fool. But I think I sure was fooled.

We need someone who is a strong representative of our value system.

The last thing I would have ever expected to happen to me in my life would be that, in fact, I would be accused of doing something wrong and maybe even something criminal.

They can't do without electricity. They can do with less electricity.

Any slots at the senior level, including CEO or other slots, will be filled internally.

But certainly I didn't know he was doing anything that was criminal.

But I can't take responsibility for criminal conduct of somebody inside the company.

But indeed a market like California is not good for Enron.

But the most important thing is, Enron did not cause the California crisis.

Every market is in transition.

I don't think I'm a criminal, number one.

I have faith in the market when we get the rules right.

I have to take responsibility for anything that happened within its businesses.

I mean, our primary businesses in wholesale pipelines, utilities, retail, were all doing extremely well.

I take full responsibility for what happened at Enron. But saying that, I know in my mind that I did nothing criminal.

In the case of Enron, we balance our positions all the time.

Investors don't like uncertainty.