The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Thursday it may start policing five of the Natural Gas Exchange's listed contracts in its latest efforts to expand its oversight into the lightly regulated electronic energy markets.

The contracts will be added to a growing list of different energy contracts being eyed for possible heightened regulation by the CFTC as part of the new powers the agency received in the 2008 farm bill.

That bill allowed the CFTC to expand its oversight into electronic markets known as exempt commercial markets by letting it impose reporting requirements and trading limits on contracts that may play a role in setting market prices. Congress granted the CFTC the new authority in an effort to close the so-called Enron loophole, which allowed electronic energy markets to evade the same stringent oversight as regulated exchanges.

Earlier this year, the CFTC began extending this new oversight to IntercontinentalExchange's Henry Hub natural gas swap after it ruled the contract serves a "significant price discovery" function. Since then, it has announced it is examining a total of 30 other different contracts for the same kinds of regulations.

The majority of those contracts are electricity and natural gas financial basis contracts listed by ICE, although the CFTC is also contemplating regulating another carbon spot contract listed at the Chicago Climate Exchange.

This marks the first time the CFTC has said it may regulate listed contracts at the Natural Gas Exchange, which is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and offers forward and spot energy contracts.

The Natural Gas Exchange contracts that the CFTC said it is scrutinizing are the Phys, BS, LD1 (US/MM), AB-NIT Contract; the Phys, BS, LD1 (US/MM), Union-Dawn Contract; the Phys, FP, (CA/GJ), AB-NIT Contract;, the Phys, FP, (US/MM), Union-Dawn Contract; and the Phys, ID, 7a(CA/GJ), AB-NIT Contract.

They can be considered both spot and forward contracts depending upon the delivery time frame, according to a CFTC spokesman.

The CFTC's recent move to target so many different electronic energy contracts for possible heightened regulation comes as the agency's chairman is pushing to impose greater limits on speculative energy traders in the futures markets.

CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler has said he wants to ensure the agency is using all of its existing authorities to protect the public and to police against market manipulation and fraud.

The public will get 15 days to comment on the contracts being considered before the CFTC issues a final decision.

-By Sarah N. Lynch, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6634; sarah.lynch@dowjones.com