States ask to reopen Edison Mission probe - paper

NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - Eight U.S. states have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reopen its probe into the power trading practices of Edison International's (EIX.N) Edison Mission Energy unit, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Last month, Edison Mission agreed to pay $9 million for giving federal investigators false or incomplete information about the company's bidding practices in the Northeast power market.

The states contend that settlement did not address whether the power producer used unethical business practices, only about its conduct during the investigation.

The settlement could also shield the company from states' efforts to seek compensation separately if Edison's actions pushed up power prices.

Edison Mission sells electricity into a 13-state region in which markets are operated by PJM Interconnection LLC, a FERC-jurisdictional grid operator.

The newspaper said that PJM determined Edison repeatedly sought to sell electricity at exceptionally high prices, close to a regional bid cap of $1,000 a megawatt hour.

FERC has made no ruling on the legality of this high offer strategy. (Reporting by Matt Daily; Editing by David Cowell)