|
|
Enron Mail |
INDIA: UPDATE 1-India state panel head to resume Enron talks.
Reuters English News Service, 05/23/01 Dutch NMa To Decide On Import Capacity Complaints By Sept Dow Jones International News, 05/23/01 Michael Capellas, John Mendelsohn, MD, & Jeffrey Skilling to Speak at Houston Technology Forum May 29 PR Newswire, 05/23/01 Clean Power Group Comments on Report of The National Energy Policy Development Group PR Newswire, 05/23/01 UK: ANALYSIS-Spanish power trade hots up after slow start. Reuters English News Service, 05/23/01 Indian Official in Enron Talks Retracts Resignation (Update5) Bloomberg, 05/23/01 INDIA: UPDATE 1-India state panel head to resume Enron talks. 05/23/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. BOMBAY, May 23 (Reuters) - India's Maharashtra state averted a crisis on Wednesday when it persuaded the head of a panel renegotiating U.S. energy giant Enron's troubled Dabhol power project to remain in his job. Madhav Godbole, who quit earlier on Wednesday, said he was returning after the state cabinet unanimously rejected his offer to resign. "They have bestowed confidence in me," he told Reuters. Godbole's resignation over remarks made against him by a senior politician had created a stir and looked likely to derail efforts to resolve a raging row between Houston-based Enron Corp. and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). Enron's $2.9 billion project in the western state of Maharashtra is widely seen as a test case for India's plans to privatise its power sector. Godbole was heading a committee to renegotiate the contract between Dabhol Power Company (DPC), owned 65 percent by Enron, and state utility Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), which has been embroiled in dispute for over six months. The dispute was sparked off last month when MSEB began defaulting on monthly payments to DPC, which is building the 2,184 megawatts power plant in the state. The first phase of 740 MW of the project is already up and running, while the second phase of 1,444 MW is slated to be completed next month. After months of wrangling over a payments dispute with the cash-strapped state electricity board, DPC last Saturday issued a preliminary notice to terminate its contract to sell power to the utility. Dabhol's termination notice was widely seen as a first step by Enron to pull out of the power project. MSEB is planning to retaliate by imposing a fine of four billion rupees ($85.16 million) on the power firm. Godhole was appointed last month to resolve this dispute. The next meeting of the committee, which was due to meet with DPC officials on Wednesday, may be held next Tuesday, he said. Meanwhile, a senior banker told Reuters that local lenders to DPC were planning to seek the help of the federal government in ensuring that foreign lenders did not invoke guarantees that they have issued. The Business Standard newspaper said the losses of the local lenders would amount to nearly 30 billion rupees if the guarantees were invoked. ($1=46.97 Indian rupees). Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Dutch NMa To Decide On Import Capacity Complaints By Sept 05/23/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) AMSTERDAM -(Dow Jones)- Dutch competition authority NMa doesn't expect to reach a decision on complaints filed by several large market parties on the way cross-border electricity transportation capacity is allocated before the end of August, a commission on the subject said Wednesday during a hearing. The commission needs to hear the response to these complaints from Sep, or Nea, as the umbrella association for Dutch electricity generators is now called, before it can make a decision on the matter. A representative of Nea said the organization couldn't respond on Wednesday as it "needs more time to prepare." Several large parties in the Dutch energy market Wednesday appeared before the commission to elaborate on previously submitted complaints on the way cross-border electricity transport capacity is currently allocated. The complaints heard by the commission showed grave concerns that existing mechanisms are driving up electricity prices and hampering the development of a free market instead of fostering it, as the Dutch government had aimed to do. At the hearing in The Hague, Cecile Gommans of the antitrust regulator NMa, who heads the committee on the subject, said complaints focus on the privileged position Nea members have in the allocation of import capacity and the rules for the auctions through which the remaining capacity is distributed in the markets. Three out of the four Nea members are owned by German and Belgian companies who control the interconnectors on the other side of the Dutch border. As such, half of the proceeds from such auctions accrue to the parent companies of the Nea members. Of the 3,900 megawatts of total import capacity available, over 900 MW are reserved for Nea. Other participants for whom the capacity available to them is therefore limited feel the market mechanism has failed to deliver access to imported power on equal terms. The complaints on the way auctions of import capacity are conducted are mostly on entering conditions for parties who want to bid. Smaller parties feel rigid rules for that are practically excluding them from the auctions. The capacity auctions are held by the TenneT Auction Office, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dutch grid operator TenneT. The complaints submitted NMa include those from Enron Corp. (ENE), Dutch energy intensive consumer group VEMW and Dutch chemicals industry association VNCI. After Nea's response, which is scheduled for mid-June, the NMa expects to decide on the complaints "within 10 weeks", Gommans said. -By Arent Jan Hesselink, Dow Jones Newswires, 0031 20 6260770, arentjan.hesselink@dowjones.com -0- 23/05/01 14-27G Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Michael Capellas, John Mendelsohn, MD, & Jeffrey Skilling to Speak at Houston Technology Forum May 29 05/23/2001 PR Newswire (Copyright © 2001, PR Newswire) Prominent Business Leaders to Discuss Technology Trends Affecting Houston's Future HOUSTON, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Technology Center (HTC) announced today that Michael Capellas, chairman and CEO of Compaq; John Mendelsohn, MD, president of University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Jeffrey Skilling, president and CEO of ENRON, will be the featured speakers at the Houston Technology Forum moderated by Lloyd Bentsen III, chairman of HTC, and scheduled for May 29, from 10:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Houston. The event is being presented by HTC in conjunction with the American Marketing Association (AMA) and the Business Marketing Association (BMA). "We are very fortunate to have four such outstanding speakers at this premier technology event," said Paul Frison, president and CEO of HTC. "Anyone involved in Houston's key technology sectors -- energy, information technology, life sciences and NASA-originated technologies -- will greatly benefit from their knowledge." The speakers will address the present and future technology trends in their respective industries and in Houston overall. They will also participate in a panel discussion during the Q&A segment of the forum. The Houston Technology Forum is one of Houston's premier technology events. The forum provides participants with the opportunity to listen to industry experts and network with over 1,000 leaders of Houston's business community. The Houston Technology Forum is being underwritten by the following sponsors: Visionary Arthur Andersen LLP www.andersen.com BLUE LANCE www.bluelance.com Compaq www.compaq.com COMSYS www.comsys.com ENRON www.enron.com Ernst & Young www.ey.com Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P www.fulbright.com Houston Chronicle www.houstonchronicle.com Thompson & Knight LLP/Thompson & Knight Foundation www.tklaw.com University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center www.mdanderson.org Pioneer ENRON Xcelerator John L. Wortham & Son, L.L.P. www.jwortham.com SMU Advanced Computer Education Center www.seas.smu.edu Texas Southern University www.tsu.edu Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. www.vinsonelkins.com HTC is a non-profit corporation that educates entrepreneurs and assists emerging companies in Houston's key technology sectors: energy, information technology, life sciences and NASA-originated technologies. HTC's goal is to enhance Houston's position as a leading city for starting and growing emerging technology companies. HTC is supported by more than 300 professional firms, corporations and organizations, as well as Houston's leading academic institutions, the Greater Houston Partnership, Texas Medical Center, Johnson Space Center and City of Houston. For more information, visit HTC's Web site at www.houstontech.org. Contact: Lou Moore Susan Thobe Houston Technology Center Pierpont Communications 713-658-1750 713-627-2223 lmoore@houstontech.org sthobe@piercom.com MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X44612356 /CONTACT: Lou Moore of Houston Technology Center, 713-658-1750, or lmoore@houstontech.org; or Susan Thobe of Pierpont Communications, 713-627-2223, or sthobe@piercom.com, for Houston Technology Center/ 13:22 EDT Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Clean Power Group Comments on Report of The National Energy Policy Development Group 05/23/2001 PR Newswire (Copyright © 2001, PR Newswire) ARLINGTON, Va., May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Clean Power Group commends the National Energy Policy Development Group for identifying key issues that the U.S. must address in order to ensure an adequate, stable, diverse, affordable and environmentally sound electric power supply. Last week the President said, "procedures intended to protect the environment have too often blocked environmental progress by discouraging companies from installing newer and cleaner equipment." The Clean Power Group has developed a specific regulatory proposal that implements the recommendations laid out in the Administration Plan. The proposal improves on the existing regulatory structure that retards both environmental progress and development of new power generation. "We're gratified that the Bush plan highlights the same priorities that we have identified as means of expanding power generation while improving environmental protection. We hope that they will consider our approach as a means of implementing their recommendations," says Joel Bluestein, Director of the Clean Power Group. He added, "Now it is up to both parties in Congress to come together to develop pro-environment, pro-growth and pro-efficiency policies that leave behind the economy vs. the environment rhetoric that always characterized energy policy debates. The truth is, we can have it all if we do this right." The Clean Power Group includes Calpine, El Paso Corp., Enron, NiSource, and Trigen Energy. The Group was formed to identify improved regulatory approaches that will encourage the development of cleaner, more efficient generation from new and existing sources. The Clean Power Group proposal uses proven market-based regulatory approaches with innovative new components to simplify regulation of the power generation sector while ensuring environmental results that are as good as, and likely better than existing programs. The program limits the cost of the reductions while encouraging the development and application of new technologies for all fuels, renewables and end-use efficiency (conservation). The proposal includes reform of the New Source Review program and would expedite the development of increased generation from new and existing sources without sacrificing the environment. If the U.S. chooses to regulate CO2 emissions, the structure of the proposal could also be the basis for addressing CO2 in a measured and productive way. The plan is based on a national cap and trade system that sets emission caps that get progressively tighter over time. In this way, the proposal provides a guarantee that the environment will always be getting cleaner. "Cap and trade systems have proven effective and cost effective in the SO2 program, and more recently in the Ozone Transport Region NOx trading program," said Bluestein. Because it ensures continuing reductions in overall emissions, the Clean Power Group proposal could replace current NSR requirements. Unlike other proposals that have been promoted, this plan provides better environmental performance than existing regulation, and would apply to new and existing generation. New Source Review regulations were intended to ensure that every new investment in new generation, or improvement in existing generation, was made cleaner than what was built before. These regulations have not worked well for existing facilities, which have avoided reducing their emissions but have also been discouraged from improving their performance. At the same time, the regulations can discourage new investment and slow down approval time for clean and efficient new and re-powering projects. "The Clean Power Group believes that we should not try to reform NSR if we cannot put something better for the environment in its place," said Bluestein. "Consequently, the group's proposal marries what industry needs, which is technological flexibility, economic certainty, and predictability with guarantees for environmental progress that current regulations hoped to get but don't quite deliver." Among the recommendations of the Energy Plan that are directly addressed by the Clean Power Group Proposal are: -- Development of a multi-pollutant regulatory strategy for power generation. -- Increased use of new technology for environmental improvement. -- Increased certainty for coal power generators through clear policies that can be applied to business decisions. -- National priority for increasing energy efficiency. -- Encouragement of combined heat and power (CHP). -- Addressing concerns with New Source Review (NSR) policies. -- Encouraging market-based solutions and international applications of U.S. technologies. -- Development of innovative technologies and regulatory approaches for the mitigation of climate change gases. MAKE YOUR OPINION COUNT - Click Here http://tbutton.prnewswire.com/prn/11690X10827769 /CONTACT: Joel Bluestein of Clean Power Group, 703-528-1900, jbluestein@eea-inc.com/ 10:25 EDT Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. UK: ANALYSIS-Spanish power trade hots up after slow start. 05/23/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. (Fixes typo in para 3) By Margaret Orgill LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Volumes in Spain's electricity derivatives trading market have risen sharply in the first quarter of the year, boosted by the arrival of new players and unexpectedly volatile wholesale power prices. Wholesale prices hit record highs last autumn after a summer drought slashed output from hydroelectric stations but have slumped by 30 percent this year after heavy winter rains filled reservoirs, increasing power production. "Prices have been all over the place. The good hydro conditions raise the risk for thermal generators like Endesa and Union Fenosa," said Ben Tait of UK-based analysts Prospex. According to Prospex, trading volumes climbed to around 7.9 terawatt hours in the first quarter of the year compared with 4.3 TWh in the whole of 2000. There were about 300 deals in the quarter but the forward curve remains short - trades for 2002 made up less than one percent of volume in the quarter. Spain trades physical power through a central electricity pool set up in 1998 when liberalisation started. In the over-the-counter (OTC) market, companies trade derivatives, which are financial swaps contracts settled against pool prices. ONLY A HANDFUL OF REGULAR TRADERS About 12 participants are present in the market although only five or six trade frequently. Regular traders include U.S. utility Enron, Belgian company Electrabel, U.S.-owned TXU and Portuguese REN which is part of the Electricidade de Portugal group. London-based Axia Energy, a recently created joint venture between between U.S. companies Entergy and Koch, says it is looking at the Spanish market. Traders mentioned that Union Fenosa and Electricite de France had recently entered the market or become more active. German utilities RWE and E.ON are also expected to make their debut soon. STILL TINY COMPARED WITH OTHER POWER MARKETS Despite the increase, the Spanish OTC electricity derivatives market remains tiny compared with more mature markets like Germany and the UK and is dwarfed by volumes traded in the local electricity pool. "Compared to Spanish consumption...Spanish OTC trading is still minimal," said Prospex in a report on the sector. "First quarter total volumes equate to just 14 percent or so of Spanish demand. In advanced power markets, OTC trading is not a fraction of consumption but a considerable multiple." Analysts say the market is trapped in a vicious cycle, with low liquidity deterring new entrants needed to boost volumes further. "There are no real market makers. The wide spreads and thin liquidity make it difficult to take big positions," Rafael Abati, managing director of U.S.-owned Sempra Energy Trading, told a recent energy conference in Madrid. "Big variations from one day to another create difficulties in closing positions," he added. Traders say Spain will remain on the margins of the European power trading scene unless there are reforms in the electricity sector to end the dominance of Endesa and Iberdrola and encourage new entrants. "The problem in Spain is the market structure does not encourage OTC trading. There are no independent retailers or generators of any sizable volume in Spain," said Simon Baker, head of TXU Espana. Sempra's Abati said the market will only expand significantly when Endesa and Iberdrola, which control 80 percent of Spain's electricity market, decide to become more involved in derivatives trading. Both companies are vertically integrated and so have little incentive to use derivatives to hedge their risk. "There's no real risk sensation among the main players in the physical market," Abati told the conference. "They are vertically integrated so don't need these tools to hedge price and volume risk." Spain is opening its electricity markets in stages, echoing a trend in Europe. Fifty five percent of the sector is now liberalised and the government has ordered full deregulation by 2003, ahead of the timetable recently proposed by the European Union. Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Indian Official in Enron Talks Retracts Resignation (Update5) 2001-05-23 10:07 (New York) Indian Official in Enron Talks Retracts Resignation (Update5) (Rewrites first section with withdrawal of resignation by negotiator.) Mumbai, May 23 (Bloomberg) -- India's chief negotiator in a payment dispute with Enron Corp. withdrew his resignation today, saying talks to forge a compromise are likely to resume early next week. Madhav Godbole, a former chairman of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, said he was retracting his resignation in response to a request from the state government. ``I have received a letter from the Maharashtra chief minister requesting me to withdraw my resignation and saying the cabinet had unanimously placed its full faith in the negotiating committee,'' he said in an interview. Dabhol Power Co., 65 percent owned by Houston-based Enron, the world's biggest energy trader, on Saturday began a procedure to end its power supply contract with the state electricity board by serving a ``preliminary termination notice.'' If a compromise is not found, Enron may have to sell its assets and pull out of the $3 billion project, the country's largest single foreign investment. Godbole quit from the committee Wednesday morning after his handling of the talks with Dabhol was criticized by a former Maharashtra chief minister whose party is a partner in the ruling coalition, dealing a potential setback to efforts for a compromise. ``It was necessary to convey the message that you can't take liberties with the chairman of the committee and there needs to be freedom for functioning,'' the official said of his resignation. Dispute Dabhol is owed 3 billion rupees ($64 million) by the electricity board for power supplied in December and January. The board has refused to pay because it said the bills should be lower to reflect a penalty Dabhol should pay for failing to supply power at full capacity. India's federal and state governments, which have guaranteed payments for power by the board and some of the loans to help fund the project, may have to pay Dabhol more than 170 billion rupees if it carries through termination of the 2,184 megawatt project. A planned meeting between the state electricity board and Dabhol officials was canceled today after Godbole's resignation. ``A meeting will take place mostly probably next Tuesday. But we will have to discuss and decide on a date,'' Godbole said after withdrawing his resignation. Statements He said earlier today that he resigned because of ``statements made against me'' by Sharad Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party in the state's ruling coalition. The decision to quit was ``well-considered,'' he said. The Economic Times quoted Pawar as saying ``a person with a positive attitude should head the renegotiation panel. A pessimistic disposition about Enron will further antagonize the two parties.'' Pawar was the state's chief minister when Enron first signed the power supply agreement with the electricity board. Anti-Enron activists went to Godbole's residence in South Mumbai to try to persuade him to return to the negotiating committee, as they view him as a supporter of their cause. ``It's important to get him back,'' said Pradyumna Kaul, an activist with Enron Virodhi Andolan, a non-governmental organization opposed to the project. Still, he said Godbole's resignation has helped focus attention on the need for a solution. Press Conference At a press conference, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the state government hasn't accepted Godbole's resignation and would attempt to ``clear all the misunderstandings'' with the negotiator to persuade him to return. Chhagan Bhujbal, deputy chief minister of the Maharashtra government, and a member of the Nationalist Congress Party, said his party supports Godbole. Three other members of the negotiating committee led by Godbole, including Deepak Parekh, chairman of Housing Development Finance Corp., India's biggest home mortgage lender, quit citing personal reasons. The committee was set up by Maharashtra after Dabhol in April authorized its Managing Director Wade Cline to cancel the power supply contract. Enron has called on India's federal government to ensure a resolution of the dispute. ``I am awaiting the return of the power minister who is abroad,'' Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters in New Delhi. Power Minister Suresh Prabhu was in France and is returning later today.
|