Enron Mail

From:drew.fossum@enron.com
To:steven.harris@enron.com
Subject:Re: Pueblo
Cc:
Bcc:
Date:Mon, 19 Jun 2000 05:04:00 -0700 (PDT)

Ha! I appreciate the complement but I like my current job just fine--all I
have to do is crap on a contract now and then and argue with Mary Kay all day
long. Piece of cake! DF




Steven Harris
06/19/2000 10:53 AM
To: Drew Fossum/ET&S/Enron@ENRON
cc:

Subject: Re: Pueblo

Excellent questions! Are you sure you don't want a job in the Commercial
Group? You talent as a deal maker is definitely underutilized.





From: Drew Fossum 06/19/2000 10:27 AM


To: Stephen Thome/HOU/ECT@ECT
cc: William Gang/HOU/EES@EES@ECT, John M
Rose/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ECT, Bill Votaw@ECT, Jerry D
Martin/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ECT, Arnold L
Eisenstein/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ECT, Steven
Harris/ET&S/Enron@Enron, Lorraine Lindberg/ET&S/Enron@ENRON, Kevin
Hyatt/ET&S/Enron@Enron

Subject: Re: Pueblo

Thanks for the extremely helpful analysis Steve and John. I'm getting a
pretty clear sense that this project isn't going anywhere as it is currently
configured. Just to satisfy myself, though, let me throw out a couple of
observations for the group to react to, along the lines of Steve's "However"
section of his memo:

1. Running this thing as a baseload unit won't work. The fuel cost is a
killer. However, I keep thinking about the $200/mwh 4 Corners spot price
someone mentioned on the phone. Is there enough volatility at 4 Corners to
support a peaking merchant plant? How often are those types of opportunities
available, and could a power plant in Alb. capture that upside by
transporting power to 4 Corners over PNMs system?

2. We have been assuming that the power plant should be a baseload plant.
Someone on the phone last week had some numbers indicating that the DOE/DOD
electric load at Kirtland had a fairly high load factor. I think we have all
assumed further that the plant should run at a high load factor to sell
surplus power into the grid (either at 4 Corners or, after N.M. elec.
restructuring, into the Alb. area). I just found the numbers I was
remembering on the conf. call--1998 peak load was 63.6 mw, and total annual
1998 consumption was 334.5 million Kwh. By my lawyer-math, that is about a
60% load factor for DOE. If the DOE load is only 60% L.F., and the plant
only generates surplus power when it can capture profit opportunities that
arise when the market clearing price at 4 Corners or in Albuquerque exceeds
some benchmark rate ($.05/Kwh? $.10/Kwh? higher?) the plant might run at a
30-40% load factor on an annual basis. The question is can we reduce the
capital cost significantly by building a peaker instead of a baseload unit?

3. Could we get debt financing for a 140 mw plant that had a baseload demand
charge contract for only 65 mw (i.e., DOE) but sold the rest of its output
into the grid only when profit opportunities arose?

4. If the answer to 3. is no, would ENA backstop the debt financing by
signing a demand charge contract for all surplus power over and above what
the government needs? At what price? Based on its knowledge of volatility
and profit opportunities currently available at 4 Corners, and future profit
opportunities that will be available in Albuq. is that just a dumb bet, or
would ENA get interested if someone else (i.e., DOE) split the risk and
reward?

John, how much of the information in your analysis could be sanitized in a
way that we could provide it to Dennis Langley? If we pull the plug on the
project, I'd like to be in a position that we could let him in on some of our
information on why the turbines we would use can't provide acceptable
economics. I don't expect that we'd want to disclose the swap value analysis
in Steve's memo, however.

Thanks again, and I'd appreciate anyone's reaction to the above questions.
DF





Stephen Thome@ECT
06/16/2000 06:12 PM
To: William Gang/HOU/EES@EES
cc: John M Rose/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Bill Votaw@ECT, Jerry D
Martin/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Arnold L
Eisenstein/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Steven Harris@ENRON, Drew
Fossum@ENRON, Lorraine Lindberg@ENRON

Subject: Re: Pueblo

John's proposed plant costs are consistent with what we have seen for our
ongoing LM6000 development. I have priced 130 MW at Four Corners assuming
Permian gas plus 50 cents for transport. This also assumes $4.70 per MWh for
O&M and an 8000 heat rate.

For an hourly 7x24 product, the intrinsic value of the gas-power swap is
$52.5 million on a 20 year deal, well below the $108 million estimate of
constructing the facility. A ten year swap is worth only $42 million (NPV =
-66 m ). That implies a market mid-price of $34 per MWh levelized over the
period.

Using the ENA Power and Gas structuring model and curves, we can determine
the following:
1. New build gas turbines cannot compete against the New Mexico market on
price.
2. LM6000 CCGT efficiency gain does not pay for HRSG and ST over a ten year
period.

However:
1. Transmission constraints could create market value in Albuquerque that
does not exist at Four Corners.
2. ENA's power prices typically undersell the market.
3. Commodity pricing does not accurately value capacity or reliability in
constrained markets.

If Enron wants to do a deal in Albuquerque, we should be selling capacity and
reliability. Given the number of power- critical industries in the area, we
could look at siting several remote units at different locations in the
city. Numerous chip manufacturing facilities and the Kirtland base could
support several LM6000's for power reliability that is specific to their
installations.

I might also suggest that peaking units would have advantages over CCGT
units. Existing generation already provides ample baseload supply, however,
the production of peak and intermediate energy is not necessarily well suited
to existing units. LM6000's have exceptionally good ramp rates that provide
real value to a utility customer. Not only can the HRSG/ST hinder the
flexibility of the units, it can add substantial capital and operating
expense with little real market benefit.

We should also explore the ability to schedule load. If the DOE wants to
peak for a test, would it be willing or able to schedule a test for the
off-peak hours? Under those circumstances, we might be able to cut them a
break on power and provide reliability of supply.

Steve Thome

503-464-3708




John M Rose@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
06/15/2000 06:53 PM
To: Bill Gang@EES
cc: , Stephen Thome@ECT
Subject: Pueblo

Bill,

Yesterday, we decided to look at two options for Pueblo; a 60 MW case and a
140 MW case. In order to match these outputs as closely as possible with
available equipment, I made the following selections:

Case 1
Equipment 3 X GE LM 2500 Gas Turbine Generators with Heat Recovery and 1
X 22 MW Steam Turbine Generator
Output at 95 deg F & 5000 ft 67 MW
Output at avg. conditions (60 deg F) 73.4 MW
Heat Rate at avg. conditions 8170 Btu/kWh (HHV)


Case 2
Equipment 3 X GE LM 6000 Gas Turbine Generators with Heat Recovery and 1
X 44 MW Steam Turbine Generator
Output at 95 deg F & 5000 ft 130 MW
Output at avg. conditions (60 deg F) 143.7 MW
Heat Rate at avg. conditions 7900 Btu/kWh (HHV)

There is a wide fluctuation in ambient temperature in Albuquerque and I sized
the blocks based on 95 deg F but used the annual average output at 60 deg F
for estimating power sales. I have attached files that show the build-up of
the estimated EPC price for the plants.

The required power prices are projected in a simple-minded economics file
attached. The projections are based on:

70% debt financing at 10% rate.
10-year project and debt life.
8500 hours per year at average output (97% capacity factor).
Gas at $4.40/MMBtu.

The results turn out pretty much as anticipated. Even with the larger plant,
we'd have to sell the power for over 6c/kWh.