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Enron Mail |
India State Panel To Rework Power Pact With Enron Unit
Dow Jones International News, 04/23/01 Continental Airlines' Bethune Again Ranked Among the Top 50 CEOs in America By Worth Magazine PR Newswire, 04/23/01 INDIA: Enron seeks lenders nod to scrap India contract. Reuters English News Service, 04/23/01 GERMANY: German wind energy production to rise in 2001-BWE. Reuters English News Service, 04/23/01 India State Elec Bd To Contest Dues To Enron Unit At Mtg Dow Jones International News, 04/23/01 WORTH Magazine Names the Top 50 CEO's; Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Heads The List As No. 1 CEO Business Wire, 04/23/01 Ontario Energy to Be Open to Competition by May 2002 (Update1) Bloomberg, 04/23/01 India State Panel To Rework Power Pact With Enron Unit 04/23/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India's Maharashtra state government will constitute a high-level committee to renegotiate a power purchase agreement with Enron Corp.'s (ENE) Indian unit Dabhol Power Co., the Press Trust of India reported late Monday, quoting India's Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. "We have decided that the government of Maharashtra will constitute a negotiating committee to negotiate issues like the cost of power and use of power with DPC," the PTI quoted Sinha as saying soon after his meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and federal Power Minister Suresh Prabhu. Dabhol has come under fire because of the relatively high cost of its power. Critics object to the company charging 7.1 rupees ($1=INR46.82) a kilowatt-hour for its power, compared with around INR1.5/KWh charged by other suppliers. Enron has a 65% stake in the controversial 2,184-megawatt, $3 billion Dabhol project, which supplies power to the State Electricity Board. Dabhol, India's largest private power plant, was scheduled for commissioning in two phases. The project's first phase, a 740-MW power plant, has already been commissioned. The committee, comprising representatives of the federal government, Maharashtra state government and Maharashtra State Electricity Board, will be constituted in a week's time, Sinha said. "We hope the DPC will respond positively to this and they don't take steps that will precipitate a crisis," Sinha said. He added that the cost of power supplied by DPC was too high. "We have to look if the state can use all the power generated and if the excess power can be wheeled out to needy states," he said. Dabhol has attracted India's largest single foreign investment. MSEB has 15%, General Electric Co. (GE) has 10% and Bechtel (X.BTL) has 10% in the project. Under a 1996 counter-guarantee agreement, the federal government is obliged to pay Enron if MSEB defaults. Enron invoked that guarantee in February, marking the first time in India's history that a company has invoked a federal guarantee, when the state utility said it couldn't afford to pay Dabhol. The state government finally paid $17 million in outstanding bills. -By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9427; himendra.kumar@dowjones.com Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Continental Airlines' Bethune Again Ranked Among the Top 50 CEOs in America By Worth Magazine 04/23/2001 PR Newswire (Copyright © 2001, PR Newswire) HOUSTON, April 23 /PRNewswire Interactive News Release/ -- Continental Airlines' (NYSE: CAL) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune has, for the third consecutive year, been named one of the 50 best CEOs in America by Worth magazine. The complete list appears in the magazine's May issue. Other honorees include the CEOs of a wide range of successful corporations, including Microsoft, Enron, Alcoa, Dell Computer Company and Federal Express. Nominated by Wall Street analysts, Worth's Top 50 CEOs were selected for their leadership and vision and "based on our belief in the CEO's ability to deliver long-term shareholder value." "In a world of airline woes, Gordon Bethune is an island of relative contentment," said Worth magazine. "Every time American, United and Delta are nettled by labor disruptions, Continental gets a bump both in revenue and in its reputation for reliability." Bethune, who ranked 33rd on this year's list, joined Continental Airlines in February 1994 as president and chief operating officer. He was named chief executive officer in November 1994 and chairman of the board in September 1996. Worth is an upscale, monthly personal finance and business magazine for people who are passionate about business, investing and financial well-being. It reaches one million loyal readers with a median net worth of more than $1 million. Edited by John Koten and started in 1992, Worth is the flagship publication of Worth Media. Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,200 departures daily to 133 domestic and 92 international destinations. Operating hubs in Newark, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, Continental (www.continental.com) serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Continental was named the 2001 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World, as well as the 1996 Airline of the Year, making it the only carrier to receive this honor twice in five years. Continental is in the top quarter of Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for in America," and is ranked the nation's No. 1 airline in customer satisfaction for long and short-haul flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power and Associates. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Conde Nast Traveler, OAG, Entrepreneur and SmartMoney magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer's Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (Fortune magazine). MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X54267387 /CONTACT: Corporate Communications of Continental Airlines, Inc., 713-324-5080, or corpcomm@coair.com/ 11:46 EDT Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. INDIA: Enron seeks lenders nod to scrap India contract. 04/23/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. BOMBAY, April 23 (Reuters) - The Indian unit of U.S. energy giant Enron Corp is seeking lenders' approval to terminate its contract to sell electricity to a virtually bankrupt Indian state utility, a source close to the issue said. The Dabhol Power Company (DPC), 65 percent owned by Houston-based Enron, will discuss the proposal with global and Indian lenders at a meeting in London on Monday, the source added. If the lenders agree, DPC will issue a notice to the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) terminating the contract, the source added. Such a move would jeopardise the nearly $3 billion invested in building a 2,184 MW power plant near Bombay on the west coast of India, and damage India's image as a friendly destination for foreign investors, analysts said. Enron is India's largest foreign investor and its power project has been mired in controversy since the mid-1990s over allegations of corruption and high costs. MSEB agreed through the contract to buy power from Enron but has now reneged on its commitment, saying it cannot afford such costly power. The utility currently owes 2.26 billion rupees ($48.28 million) in over-due payments to Dabhol. ($1=46.81 Indian rupees). Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. GERMANY: German wind energy production to rise in 2001-BWE. 04/23/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. FRANKFURT, April 23 (Reuters) - Newly installed wind energy capacity in Germany will help boost production in the country which is already the world leader in the sector, the Federal Wind Energy Association (BWE) said on Monday. In the first three months of 2001, some 297,5 megawatts (MW) or 4.9 percent of new capacity were added, bringing the total to 6,400 MW, it said. Last year, just under 1,700 MW were added. BWE president Peter Ahmels said planned expansions in the remaining three quarters of 2001 could boost capacity to more than 8,000 MW at the end of the year. By comparison, out of the 18,000 MW installed worldwide, the U.S. currently accounts for 2,500 MW, Spain for 2,500 MW and Denmark for 2,300. Germany now has 9,596 wind power units, producing around 12 billion kilowatt hours of electricity which covers 2.5 percent of domestic demand. Ahmels attributed the boost to the sector to the 12-months old law on subsidising power derived from renewable energies (EEG), which was recently backed by a landmark Europen ruling. The European court of Justice ruled in March that the generous prices payable by utilities and their customers to operators of renewable power did not constitute state aid and that environmental protection goals justified the subsidy. Aurich-based Enercon accounted for a 47.1 percent share of newly installed generation. Next was Nordex AG of Rostock (10.2 percent of the newly installed generation), followed by AN Windenergie GmbH of Bremen (9.8 percent), Vestas Deutschland GmbH of Husum (9.1 percent) and Enron Wind of Salzbergen (8.6 percenrt). Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. India State Elec Bd To Contest Dues To Enron Unit At Mtg By Himendra Kumar Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 04/23/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- The Indian state of Maharashtra's electricity board, or MSEB, a 15% stakeholder in Enron Corp.'s (ENE) Indian unit Dabhol Power Co., will challenge Dabhol's claims of payments for power at a Dabhol shareholders' meeting in London Wednesday, MSEB Chairman Vinay Bansal said Monday. "We have received a bill for December 2000 and January 2001 from Dabhol Power which they claim is payable by us. We have a (counter) claim of 4.01 billion rupees ($1=INR46.78) on them. We are going to tell the board members that as far as we are concerned, nothing is outstanding," Bansal told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview. Enron India Ltd.'s spokesman Jimmy Mogal declined to comment on MSEB's challenge. Enron Corp. has a 65% controlling stake in the controversial 2,184-megawatt, $3-billion Dabhol project, which supplies power to the State Electricity Board. Dabhol has attracted India's largest single foreign investment. MSEB has 15%, General Electric Co. (GE) has 10% and Bechtel (X.BTL) with 10% are the other shareholders in the project. As previously reported, Dabhol and the federal government recently started a conciliation process, governed by the provisions of the U.N. Commission on International Trade Law, aimed at resolving Dabhol's latest dispute with MSEB. Dabhol said MSEB owes it INR1.02 billion for power supplied in December 2000. For its part, MSEB said it wanted the power bill to be offset against a INR4 billion fine it levied on Dabhol for what it said was the non-supply of power for intermittent periods between October 2000 and the end of January. As reported, a meeting of Dabhol lenders is taking place in London Monday. The meeting has been called by Dabhol to update its lenders on the current situation of the project. Dabhol has nearly 40 lenders that include Indian and international financial institutions. In reply to local media reports speculating that Enron may seek shareholders' approval at the board's meeting to sell its entire Dabhol stake, Bansal said: "Our equity in Dabhol is 15%. At the moment, we don't have the money to buy more. But should that situation arise, we will consider all our options." Earlier this month, Dabhol sent MSEB a notice of political force majeure to enforce its rights under a 1995 power purchase agreement between the two parties. Essentially, this move is to protect Dabhol from being penalized by the State Electricity Board if political uncertainties interrupt its power supply to the Board. Last week, Dabhol served two notices of arbitration on the Maharashtra state government. In a statement, Enron India said the notices were served because the Maharashtra government had failed "to honor its obligations under the government of Maharashtra State Support Agreement and Supplemental State Support Agreement," signed in 1994 and 1996, respectively. Dabhol said the agreements meant that the Maharashtra government had pledged to "support and encourage the further development and completion of the Dabhol project." It added that "without justification," the Maharashtra government has gone back on these agreements, which has "adversely and materially impacted Dabhol's ability to perform under its contractual agreements." Federal Govt Obliged To Pay Under Counter-Guarantee The statement added that as part of the arbitration process, an independent three-person panel will be set up to determine whether the Maharashtra government has "failed to comply with its obligations." Under a 1996 counter-guarantee agreement, the federal government is obliged to pay Enron when MSEB defaults. Enron invoked that guarantee in February, marking the first time in India's history that a company has invoked a federal guarantee, when the state utility said it couldn't afford to pay Dabhol. The state government finally paid $17 million in outstanding bills. Dabhol, India's largest private power plant, was scheduled for commissioning in two phases. The project's first phase, a 740-megawatt power plant, has already been commissioned and phase two is due to be completed later this year. Dabhol has come under fire because of the relatively high cost of its power. Critics object to Dabhol charging INR7.1 a kilowatt-hour for its power, compared with INR1.5/KWh charged by other suppliers. -By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9427; himendra.kumar@dowjones.com Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. WORTH Magazine Names the Top 50 CEO's; Microsoft's Steve Ballmer Heads The List As No. 1 CEO 04/23/2001 Business Wire (Copyright © 2001, Business Wire) NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2001--Fifty of the country's chief executive officers have been chosen by WORTH magazine as the top business leaders in the nation, it was announced today by W. Randall Jones, CEO, Worth Media. The third annual listing of CEO's by WORTH is determined based on each leaders "foresight, judgment, and competitive juice to make their investors happy." Rounding out the top 10 are the following best leaders: 1. Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft 2. Jeffrey Skilling, CEO, Enron 3. Philip Purcell, CEO, Morgan Stanley 4. James Morgan, CEO, Applied Materials 5. Margaret Whitman, CEO, eBay 6. Lawrence Ellison, CEO, Oracle 7. Koichi Nishimura, CEO, Solectron 8. John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems 9. Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems 10. Dennis Kozlowski, CEO, Tyco International "We selected this year's list based on our belief in the CEO's ability to deliver long-term shareholder value," said Jones. "The real test is not to recognize past achievements but to be able to look back in five or ten years from now. As a matter of fact, some CEO's we've chosen haven't made money for share holders in the past few years, but we believe they are poised to do so now." WORTH's methodology for selecting the 50 best CEO's strives to balance their possession of a vision with a demonstrated ability to execute under stress and when confronted by urgent challenges. The nominations were collected from leading fund managers and securities analysts and vetted by a team of WORTH reporters. The final selections were made by WORTH's editors. WORTH, the monthly magazine edited for the dynamic wealth market, reaches active investors, business leaders and luxury connoisseurs with a median net worth of $1.25 million. The May issue will be available on newsstands April 24. WORTH MAGAZINE'S 50 TOP CEO'S 1. Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft; Redmond, WA 2. Jeffrey Skilling, CEO, Enron; Houston, TX 3. Philip Purcell, CEO, Morgan Stanley; New York, NY 4. James Morgan, CEO, Applied Materials; Santa Clara, CA 5. Margaret Whitman, CEO, eBay; San Jose, CA 6. Lawrence Ellison, CEO, Oracle; Redwood Shores, CA 7. Koichi Nishimura, CEO, Solectron; Milpitas, CA 8. John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems; San Jose, CA 9. Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems; Palo Alto, CA 10. Dennis Kozlowski, CEO, Tyco International; Exeter, NH 11. David Pottruck, CEO, Charles Schwab; San Francisco, CA 12. Steven Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer; Cupertino, CA 13. James McNerney Jr., CEO, 3M; St. Paul, MN 14. Steven Appleton, CEO, Micron Technology; Boise, ID 15. Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, General Electric; Fairfield, CT 16. Henry Paulson Jr., CEO, Goldman Sachs; New York, NY 17. Kenneth Freeman, CEO, Quest Diagnostics; Teterboro, NJ 18. Steven Burd, CEO, Safeway; Pleasanton, CA 19. Frederick Smith, CEO, FedEx; Memphis, TN 20. Craig Barrett, CEO, Intel; Santa Clara, CA 21. Michael Dell, CEO, Dell Computer; Round Rock, TX 22. Richard Fairbank, CEO, Capital One; Falls Church, VA 23. Kenneth Chenault, CEO, American Express; New York, NY 24. James Kelly, CEO, United Parcel Service; Atlanta, GA 25. Robert Ulrich, CEO, Target; Minneapolis, MN 26. William McGuire, CEO, UnitedHealth Group; Edina, MN 27. George David, CEO, United Technologies; Hartford, CT 28. James Truchard, CEO, National Instruments; Austin, TX 29. Richard Kovacevich, CEO, Wells Fargo; San Francisco, CA 30. Henry Nicholas III, CEO, Broadcom; Irvine, CA 31. Robert Nardelli, CEO, Home Depot; Atlanta, GA 32. Arthur Levinson, CEO, Genentecc; San Francisco, CA 33. Gordon Bethune, CEO, Continental Airlines; Houston, TX 34. Ronald DeFeo, CEO, Terex; Westport, CT 35. Leonard Schaeffer, CEO, Wellpoint Health Networks; Thousand Oaks, CA 36. William Wise, CEO, El Paso; Houston, TX 37. Robert Walter, CEO, Cardinal Health; Dublin, OH 38. Alain Belda, CEO, Alcoa; Pittsburgh, PA 39. Kevin Knight, CEO, Knight Transportation; Phoenix, AZ 40. Russell Lewis, CEO, New York Times Company; New York, NY 41. Dan Akerson, CEO, XO Communications; Reston, VA 42. Jacques Nasser, CEO, Ford Motor, Dearborn, MI 43. Roger Jarvis, CEO, Spinnaker Exploration; Houston, TX 44. Jure Sola, CEO, Sanmina; San Jose, CA 45. David D'Alessandro, CEO, John Hancock Financial Services; Boston, MA 46. Douglas Rock, CEO, Smith International; Houston, TX 47. Willem Roelandts, CEO, Xilinx; San Jose, CA 48. John Wren, CEO, Omnicom; New York, NY 49. Clark McLeod, CEO, McLeodUSA; Cedar Rapids, IA 50. William Wrigley Jr., CEO, WM. Wrigley Jr.; Chicago, IL CONTACT: Worth Media Susan Blankman, 212/724-6383 shblankman@aol.com 08:12 EDT APRIL 23, 2001 Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Ontario Energy to Be Open to Competition by May 2002 (Update1) 2001-04-23 16:29 (New York) Ontario Energy to Be Open to Competition by May 2002 (Update1) (Updates with industry comment beginning in third paragraph, background in sixth.) Toronto, April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ontario will open its electricity market to competition by May 2002 in a bid to spur investment in power generation projects, Energy Minister Jim Wilson said in the Legislature. ``Open, competitive markets are beneficial,'' Wilson said. ``They keep costs low, encourage innovation and benefit consumers.'' Independent power producers such as TransAlta Corp., Canada's biggest investor-owned utility, and Enron Corp., a Houston-based energy trader, will be able to negotiate rates with local utilities and big corporate users. Currently, independent producers are required to sell electricity to the Ontario government, which resells it to local utilities. ``It's long overdue,'' said Arthur Dickinson, president of the Association of Major Power Consumers of Ontario, which represents 67 companies in the province. ``The sooner we get a competitive market, the better.'' He said a government proposal to raise electricity rates by 0.7 cent per kilowatt hour in June will cost members of his association C$150 million ($96.8 million) annually. ``My members are very concerned they have no one to negotiate a contract with'' and have to accept the price increase, Dickinson said. Ontario had planned to open the electricity market in November. Government officials said the plan was delayed because of concerns it might result in soaring prices and short supplies, such as occurred in Alberta and California. Alberta capped prices for consumers and small businesses and is spending more than C$3 billion in rebates to lower costs. Pacific Gas & Electric filed for bankruptcy protection in California after accruing $9 billion in losses from buying power at prices higher than it was allowed to charge customers. ``Ontario is different from Alberta and California,'' Adam White, manager of regulatory affairs for TransAlta, said last week. ``They (Ontario) have ample supplies so they're not as vulnerable.'' Average demand for power in Ontario is 23,000 megawatts, about the same as New York state. Each megawatt is enough power to light 1,000 homes. Independent producers such as TransAlta currently generate about 1,600 megawatts of electricity in the province. --Joe Schneider in the Toronto newsroom (416) 681-6791 or jschneider5@Bloomberg.net with reporting by Gene Laverty in Calgary. /mos/kb
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