FW:

-----Original Message-----
From: Beth_Jenkins@fpl.com@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-Beth+5FJenkins+40fpl+2Ecom+40ENRON@ENRON.com]
Sent: Friday, June 22, 2001 8:49 AM
To: Mckay, Jonathan
Subject:

ENRON CHAIRMAN GREETED WITH CREAM PIE IN CALIFORNIA
Enron Corp President Jeff Skilling defended his company's
role in the California power crisis and got a cream pie in his
face for his trouble, reports Reuters. Skilling, speaking at the
Commonwealth Club of California, attacked the Golden State's
botched deregulation, adding: "People in California are angry,
and they should be." The pie thrower was ejected from the
meeting.
Later, Skilling voiced doubts about FERC's implementation of
limited price caps saying they could work against the free market
principle and put a damper on investment in new generation the
state badly needs. He suggested that a combination of new
generating capacity, a more rational regulatory framework and
consumer conservation could bring prices down. "This one is easy
to fix, and it will be fixed," Skilling concluded. "You'll get
supply, you'll get reduction in demand, and prices will
collapse."
Meanwhile, today's Washington Post reports that Duke Energy
has been ordered by FERC to pay millions of dollars in refunds to
California, turning down the energy generator's explanation of
the high prices it charged in January for wholesale power. Duke
was told it should have charged no more than $273 per megawatt
hour, while the utility argued that charging nearly $3,900 MWH
during short supply periods was alright because it risked not
getting paid (Reuters, June 21, Washington Post, pg. E-2, June
22, http://www.washingtonpost.com ).