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Enron Mail |
GREG WHALLEY: IN THE LINE OF FIRE
BusinessWeek, 09/10/01 Enron Wins Document Protection Order From Calif Judge Dow Jones Energy Service, 09/06/01 Power regulators still debating decisions on key energy issues Associated Press Newswires, 09/06/01 Black Hills Corp Buys Las Vegas Power Plant Dow Jones News Service, 09/06/01 Enron's subsidiary serves arbitration notice on Indian government Associated Press Newswires, 09/06/01 India Enron Subsidiary Serves Arbitration Notice On Govt Dow Jones International News, 09/06/01 INDIA: US seeks India's cooperation in energy security. Reuters English News Service, 09/06/01 SPRINGS DECLINES TO JOIN LAWSUIT ON POWER PLANT South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 09/06/01 California Panel Delays Vote on Power-Provider Choice (Update1) Bloomberg, 09/06/01 RWE Energy Trading Division to Set Up U.S. Unit, Take on Enron Bloomberg, 09/06/01 In Business This Week: HEADLINER GREG WHALLEY: IN THE LINE OF FIRE By Stephanie Anderson Forest Edited by Monica Roman 09/10/2001 BusinessWeek 56 (Copyright 2001 McGraw-Hill, Inc.) Greg Whalley knows a thing or two about getting ready for battle. During the 1980s, the West Point graduate served with the U.S. Army. That experience could come in handy in his new job as president and chief operating officer of Houston energy trader Enron. Since the beginning of the year, Enron shares have plunged 50% in the wake of dropping energy prices. The stock has also been hit by fallout from other issues, including the company's ailing broadband venture and the abrupt, Aug. 14 resignation of President and CEO Jeffrey Skilling. Following Skilling's departure, Whalley, 39, was promoted along with Mark Frevert, who was named vice-chairman. Both were elevated to the office of the chairman. Whalley is now seen by outsiders as the leading contender for Enron's top post. But Chairman Kenneth Lay, who reassumed Enron's CEO title when Skilling stepped down, cautions that the promotions should not be viewed as the last word in the company's succession plan. Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Enron Wins Document Protection Order From Calif Judge By Jessica Berthold 09/06/2001 Dow Jones Energy Service (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LOS ANGELES -(Dow Jones)- A Sacramento Superior Court judge Thursday ruled that Enron Corp (ENE) must comply with a legislative subpoena of financial documents, but reversed an earlier decision and granted the company a protective order of the documents, according to a copy of the ruling seen by Dow Jones Newswires. Enron said the ruling was a victory, as the company has always maintained it would be happy to comply with the subpoena by the state Senate committee as long as the company received a protective order. "We are obviously very happy with the ruling and look forward to working with the committee to come up with a protective order that truly protects our proprietary information," said Enron spokesman Mark Palmer. The Senate Select Committee To Investigate Market Manipulation has already cited Enron and Reliant Energy, Inc (REI) with contempt for refusing to provide documents, a charge for which the companies could be fined. Once Enron and the committee draft a protective order and the judge agrees to it, the company will hand over any documents that the committee wants, Palmer said. However, an attorney for the committee expressed skepticism that the company would actually follow through. "We have no indication from Enron that they would agree to produce the documents we've requested, even with the confidentiality order," said Larry Drivon, special counsel to the committee. He added that he could not speculate if the committee would drop its contempt charge if Enron did produce all requested documents. In his decision granting the protective order, Judge Charles Kobayashi wrote that he was not convinced the committee has solid standards in place to ensure Enron's protection. "It is clear that there are no standards for determining what are the available protections, no procedure for determining what is a legitimately confidential, privileged, proprietary matter, no procedure for oversight and no prescribed remedy for (Enron) for any unauthorized disclosures," Kobayashi wrote. Last week, a San Francisco Superior Court judge granted Enron a protective order in a separate investigation by the state attorney general. -By Jessica Berthold; Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3872; jessica.berthold@dowjones.com Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Power regulators still debating decisions on key energy issues By KAREN GAUDETTE Associated Press Writer 09/06/2001 Associated Press Newswires Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - State power regulators on Thursday once again delayed suspending the option that allows Californians to choose their electricity provider. Though a mere 200,000 Californians switched from their local utility to companies such as Green Mountain Energy or Enron, the Legislature has ordered the Public Utilities Commission to temporarily end consumer choice to keep three struggling utilities from losing more customers. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. are on the hook for the state's power-buying costs. The PUC is expected to suspend direct access retroactively to July 1. Energy service providers, such as solar and wind-powered electricity seller Green Mountain Energy, say it's unconstitutional, and have vowed to fight the PUC in court. The PUC also delayed voting on several key issues that would affect Californians' electric bills. It plans to take up these issues at a newly scheduled meeting Sept. 13: - A proposal to grant the state's power-buying agency the authority to raise electric rates on its own without PUC review to ensure such rates are justified. - A proposal to raise rates for San Diego Gas and Electric Co. residential customers by an average of 12 percent. - A proposal that bills Pacific Gas and Electric Co. $6.5 billion, Southern California Edison Co. $4 billion and SDG&E $1.5 billion to help the state recoup its power-buying costs. PUC President Loretta Lynch said the commission needs more time to review a flood of comments from utilities, consumer advocates and other parties to those decisions. The state plans to recover some of the money it has spent buying power by collecting a portion of ratepayer money. The more ratepayers each utility has, the lighter the blow to each customer's electric bill. But it would come at the expense of consumer choice, which lawmakers had promoted as the method by which deregulation would foster competition and lead to lower electric rates. Rick Counihan, vice president and general manager of Green Mountain Energy, said if the PUC suspends consumer choice until the state stops buying power for the utilities - potentially a decade down the road - consumer choice is dead. "(Direct access) was one of the few good things that came out of the restructuring," Counihan said. Just as some environmentally conscious customers buy organic produce or recycled paper products, the option to leave their utility and buy power largely generated by the wind or sun was another way they could make a difference, he said. Under the PUC plan, customers who signed up with an energy provider before July 1 could keep their contracts until they expire. Deals signed after that date would be nullified, and the customer would be forced to return to a local utility. PUC Commissioner Richard Bilas, a vocal proponent of direct access, is hopeful it could resume after the finances of PG&E, Edison and SDG&E improve. "When the utilities get back in the business - if they ever get back in the business of going out and buying electricity on behalf of themselves - that could open up direct access again," Bilas said. He predicted that could happen 18 months from now. Counihan was less optimistic. "I'm very skeptical that we, or other providers, will come back to California," Counihan said. "We'll very likely take our marketing activities and reallocate to other states that are more friendly." Counihan also worried a temporary suspension would give the big three utilities no incentive to retain an infrastructure of computers and other technology put into place to process customers who switched to the alternative energy firms. --- On the Net: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Black Hills Corp Buys Las Vegas Power Plant 09/06/2001 Dow Jones News Service (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) RAPID CITY, S.D. -(Dow Jones)- Black Hills Corp.'s (BKH) independent energy unit Black Hills Energy Ventures completed the acquisition of a 273-megawatt gas-fired co-generation power plant in Las Vegas from Enron Corp.'s (ENE) Enron North America unit. Black Hills Energy said in a press release Thursday the cost for the entire facility is expected to be about $330 million. The price of the transaction was previously undisclosed. Black Hills is in the process of obtaining long-term financing, which primarily will be non-recourse project debt. Black Hills Energy and Enron's unit signed a definitive agreement for the transaction in July. New York Stock Exchange-listed shares of Black Hills traded recently at $31.81, down 5 cents, or 0.2%, on composite volume of 48,000 shares. Average daily volume is 178,092 shares. Black Hills Energy said it minimizes its risk exposure while securing significant recurring revenue and earnings streams by linking the Las Vegas facility to long-term contracts and fuel provision requirements. An expansion of the present 51-megawatt cogeneration plant is now underway. Most of the power from that facility is under a long-term contract expiring in 2024, with the remainder being merchant power. Black Hills Energy has sold 50% of the 51-megawatt power plant to another party. Construction of a new combined cycle generation facility adjacent to the existing plant will add about 222 megawatts of capacity to the existing plant site. The new generation is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2002. The power of the expansion is sold under a long-term contract expiring in 2017. The contract requires the purchaser to provide fuel to the power plant when the plant is dispatched. Company Web site: http://www.blackhillscorp.com -Consella A. Lee; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400 Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Enron's subsidiary serves arbitration notice on Indian government 09/06/2001 Associated Press Newswires Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. NEW DELHI, India (AP) - The Indian subsidiary of power giant Enron Corp. has served an arbitration notice on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government for payment of 1.02 billion rupees (dlrs 21.7 million) owed by a state utility company, a news report said Thursday. The government had provided guarantees that it would meet the obligations of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board if the latter failed to pay for the electricity purchased from one of Houston-based Enron's plants in western India. The plant stopped operation in May after its sole customer, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, canceled a sevem-year-old power purchase agreement. "We sent the arbitration notice on Sept. 4 to the government of India," Press Trust of India news agency quoted Jimmy Mogal, a spokesman for Enron's Indian subsidiary, Dabhol Power Corporation, as saying. The arbitration proceedings will be held in London, PTI said. No date has been fixed so far. Enron says the board did not have the right to cancel the agreement. The state government says that DPC's electricity is overpriced and it favors renegotiation of the power purchase agreement between the company and the state utility. There is a court dispute between Dabhol and the electricity board over payment of outstanding bills. (aks-gs) Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. India Enron Subsidiary Serves Arbitration Notice On Govt 09/06/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) NEW DELHI (AP)--The Indian subsidiary of power giant Enron Corp. (ENE) has served an arbitration notice on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government for payment of $21.7 million owed by a state utility company, a news report said Thursday. The government had provided guarantees that it would meet the obligations of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board if the latter failed to pay for the electricity purchased from one of Houston-based Enron's plants in western India. The plant stopped operation in May after its sole customer, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, canceled a 7-year-old power-purchase agreement. "We sent the arbitration notice on Sept. 4 to the government of India," Press Trust of India news agency quoted Jimmy Mogal, a spokesman for Enron's Indian subsidiary, Dabhol Power Corp., as saying. The arbitration proceedings will take place in London, PTI said. No date has been fixed so far. Enron says the board didn't have the right to cancel the agreement. The state government says DPC's electricity is overpriced, and it favors renegotiation of the power-purchase agreement between the company and the state utility. There is a court dispute between Dabhol and the electricity board on payment of outstanding bills. Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. INDIA: US seeks India's cooperation in energy security. 09/06/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. BOMBAY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The United States has sought India's cooperation in protecting oil and gas supplies from the the volatile Middle East region, the main supplier of crude oil for both the countries. "The Persian Gulf, and the lines of communication connecting that region with the rest of the world remain critical for the security of both countries," U.S. Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill told a business conference on Thursday. He said the United States and its allies depended on the Middle East for half of their crude oil imports, while India banked on the region for 90 percent of such imports. "Consequently, the flow of oil and gas from the Middle East must be safeguarded and free of threats stemming either from military aggression or from acts of terrorism," he said. "Parallel with efforts by the international community, the United States and India can work more closely together to achieve this objective." He said both countries wanted a higher global supply of energy as the current production levels were inadequate. "This implies that there will be increasing joint opportunities to exploit new technologies to increase energy supplies." Blackwill said American energy firms were world leaders and their investments in the U.S. and abroad enhanced efficiencies. "Despite current difficulties, we hope those U.S. firms can thrive in India." U.S. energy firm, Enron Corp , is embroiled in a bitter payments dispute with a local utility and has declared it wants to sell its 65-percent stake in the $2.9-billion Dabhol power plant-the largest direct foreign investment in India. Another American energy firm, AES Corp is also facing a payments dispute and said recently it wanted to sell its stake in a distribution company in the eastern state of Orissa. Blackwill said problems faced by multinational investors had "darkened" India's investment climate. "I know this personally from speaking with some of the premier American business executives with major investments in Asia." Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. LOCAL SPRINGS DECLINES TO JOIN LAWSUIT ON POWER PLANT Sallie James Staff Writer Staff Writer Jeremy Milarsky contributed to this report. 09/06/2001 South Florida Sun-Sentinel Broward Metro 4B (Copyright 2001 by the Sun-Sentinel) A tiff may be brewing among three north Broward cities whose concerns about a power plant have already spawned a lawsuit. So far, the city of Coconut Creek has sued the city of Deerfield Beach, claiming Deerfield illegally approved a site plan that would allow Enron Corp. to build a power plant east of Florida's Turnpike. Now Coconut Creek officials are trying to draw Coral Springs into the fray, asking the city to join its lawsuit with some financial assistance and public backing. So far, Coral Springs has declined. Coral Springs Commissioner Rhonda Calhoun called the maneuverings "treacherous," and the dialogue among city officials is becoming contentious. The lawsuit, filed in July, accuses Deerfield Beach of illegally approving a site plan. In the suit, Coconut Creek officials claim Deerfield Beach erroneously approved the plant because it overlooked a loophole in a zoning law. Because of a complicated 1990 annexation law, only City Hall staff members could decide whether Enron could build its plant in Deerfield Beach. Staff members could reject the project only if they could prove the plant broke city laws. Coral Springs is reluctant to sue a sister city and twice has delayed action on Coconut Creek's request to become a party to their lawsuit. Coconut Creek Vice Mayor Jim Waldman and Mayor Gloria Fantl both tried to convince Coral Springs officials they really would not be suing the city. Just don't think of The City of Coconut Creek vs. the City of Deerfield Beach as a lawsuit, Waldman told Coral Springs commissioners on Tuesday. He suggested they view it as "empowerment" instead. "It is not a city suing a city," said Waldman, even though Coral Springs City Attorney Sam Goren affirmed the litigation is most definitely a city suing a city. "What we are actually doing is empowering Deerfield Beach, their elected officials, to do what they wanted to do. The vehicle, unfortunately, is through the legal system, and it says we have to sue the party who made the decision." Waldman's comments irked Deerfield Mayor Al Capellini. "Our fellow commissioners in Coconut Creek ... they are ... trying to convince Coral Springs to join in their suit against Deerfield Beach. So next time you're going through Coconut Creek, think about that," Capellini said to the audience at Tuesday's Deerfield Beach commission meeting. Afterward, he added, "If Jim Waldman was concerned about empowering us, why don't they pick up the phone and have a discussion with us? Do they think a lawsuit is a proper way to spend taxpayers' money? We find it offensive that they think our city attorney and our five commissioners don't know how to interpret the law." Coral Springs Mayor John Sommerer also was also wary. "I have heard commissioners from Deerfield Beach say they don't know what the heck Coconut Creek is trying to pull," Sommerer said. Staff Writer Jeremy Milarsky contributed to this report. Sallie James can be reached at sjames@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572- 2019. Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. California Panel Delays Vote on Power-Provider Choice (Update1) 2001-09-06 15:34 (New York) California Panel Delays Vote on Power-Provider Choice (Update1) (Adds comments from PUC commissioner in seventh, eighth paragraphs.) San Francisco, Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- California regulators delayed a vote on a plan to suspend utility customers' right to choose their own power provider, a move officials say is needed to ensure there is a market for electricity the state is buying. The California Public Utilities Commission will consider the issue of so-called ``direct access'' at a meeting on Sept. 13. The delay gives customers of three state utilities more time to switch power providers, leaving fewer customers behind to help the state recover its costs, officials said. ``The longer that we drag this thing out, the more damage that is going to be done,'' said Commissioner Carl Wood. The state has spent more than $8.6 billion buying power on behalf of utilities owned by PG&E Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy. PG&E's Pacific Gas & Electric and Edison's Southern California Edison became insolvent buying power for more than they could charge customers. Rates paid by utility customers would help reimburse the state for power-buying expenses. One of the promises of the deregulation of California's electricity market was that customers would be allowed to leave Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison or Sempra's San Diego Gas & Electric and buy electricity provided by other companies. Assembly Bill 1X, the legislation that allowed California to buy power on behalf of utilities, called for the suspension of direct access. Bilas Delays Vote The vote was delayed by PUC member Richard Bilas. Bilas is one of two commissioners appointed by former Governor Pete Wilson, a Republican, and is a supporter of power-provider choice. The other three commissioners were appointed by Governor Gray Davis, who signed Assembly Bill 1X in February. After the meeting, Bilas said he delayed the vote to give utility customers more time to switch their energy provider. Bilas was able to delay the vote because he had an alternate proposal on the issue on the PUC agenda. ``Direct access hasn't died yet,'' Bilas told reporters. ``It'll go to heaven next Thursday I believe -- probably on a 3-2 vote.'' In July, the latest month for which data is available, 7,647 California customers switched to a direct-access power provider from a utility, according to the PUC. Another 7,494 customers switched to a utility from a direct-access provider. The PUC's plan to suspend direct access is opposed by the Alliance for Retail Energy Markets, a group that includes such power providers as Enron Corp., AES NewEnergy, Calpine Corp. and Green Mountain Energy Co. RWE Energy Trading Division to Set Up U.S. Unit, Take on Enron 2001-09-06 09:42 (New York) RWE Energy Trading Division to Set Up U.S. Unit, Take on Enron Essen, Germany, Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- RWE AG, Europe's No. 4 power company, said it's setting up an energy trading unit in Texas, bidding to take on Enron Corp. on its home turf. RWE Trading Americas will be run by Bill Coorsh, the German company said in a faxed statement. As in Europe, RWE will trade electricity, gas, coal and oil in the Americas, the company said. Chief Executive Dietmar Kuhnt has repeatedly said the Essen- based company wants to expand its trading operations, and in June singled out the U.S. market as one of the main expansion areas. ``We want to take advantage of the extremely attractive opportunities in the U.S. energy trading market,'' RWE said. RWE will compete with Enron, the biggest energy trader that's also based in Houston. RWE Trading has said it wants to become one of Europe's top traders. The U.S. unit will be built up ``in parallel'' with the European expansion, RWE said.
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