|
|
Enron Mail |
We think the HoustonStreet disclaimer is not just overkill but entirely
unnecessary. And I plan to remind all of you of this the next time you claim the Enron lawyers are too conservative! Elena Kapralova 06/29/99 09:03 AM To: Rahil Jafry/LON/ECT@ECT cc: Louise Kitchen/LON/ECT@ECT, Marcello Romano/LON/ECT@ECT, Paul Goddard/LON/ECT@ECT, Justin Boyd/LON/ECT@ECT, Gary Foster/Corp/Enron@Enron, Mark - ECT Legal Taylor/HOU/ECT@ECT Subject: Disclaimer in HoustonStreet Press Release Rahil, According to Clifford Chance, our European Legal Advisor, this disclaimer must be driven by regulatory and investment issues in US, i.e. SEC requirements. In Europe, the paragraph like this would not be necessary in the ress release, but as our press release will be issued in US, it may need further investigation with US lawyers.... Rahil Jafry 29/06/99 11:10 To: Louise Kitchen/LON/ECT@ECT, Marcello Romano/LON/ECT@ECT, Paul Goddard/LON/ECT@ECT, Elena Kapralova/LON/ECT@ECT, Justin Boyd/LON/ECT@ECT, Gary Foster/Corp/Enron@Enron cc: Subject: HoustonStreet.com Pls. note the disclaimer at the end of the message (highlighted in red). Justin/Gary, is there a specific legal or PR related reason for this? Would we have to make similar disclaimers in our press release? Gary and I are working on draft press releases currently and will forward those for your approval soon. - R ****************************************************************************** *********** Trading Megawatts On the Web: Houston Street Exchange Launches First Fully Web-Based Trading Floor and Portal for the Electric Power Industry Business Wire - June 28, 1999 08:32 PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 1999-- HoustonStreet.com alters power trading landscape by increasing the efficiency of how power is bought and sold Electric power. It's quickly becoming one of the world's largest traded commodities, yet it's one of the last to be bought and sold over the Internet. But that's about to change today when Houston Street Exchange introduces HoustonStreet.com, a new online electric power trading floor that allows power traders to buy and sell electricity faster and better than before. Houston Street Exchange hopes to do for the power industry what E rade did for the stock market: turn the industry upside down by bringing together buyers and sellers in a real-time, efficient online format. This will shift the control of the $70 billion wholesale power market in the United States by putting it directly into the hands of power marketers, utilities and other traders that are entering the increasingly deregulated energy market. HoustonStreet.com serves as a portal for power traders, providing critical information regarding weather, energy news, stocks and other direct links necessary for trading electricity. HoustonStreet.com is pioneering the emerging business-to-business e-commerce power trading market. Lights out for phones, static Web sites HoustonStreet.com delivers what has so far been elusive to the power trader: an easy-to-use, fully Web-based trading floor that gives power traders all the information and flexibility they need to post offers, make bids, counter and re-counter instantaneously, until they close the deal. Historically, power marketers have attempted to finalize deals while juggling numerous phones and praying no one is undercutting their transactions because they can't see a real-time picture of market pricing. They lose precious time because they must call around to get the latest market prices. HoustonStreet.com eliminates that by giving power traders instant access to current pricing fluctuations in different regional power markets. "The real-time environment of the Web naturally lends itself to trading wholesale power," said Paul Messerschmidt, manager of Power Markets Services at Energy Security Analysis, Inc. "But existing online products are inflexible and they typically require proprietary hardware or software to operate. Until these issues are rectified, wholesale power trading online will remain dormant. Houston Street Exchange is positioning itself as the industry's wake-up call by providing a secure, reliable and flexible platform that allows traders to trade power the same way they do today, but more efficiently." HoustonStreet.com enables traders to make deals based on the product and term of their choice, providing them the flexibility to buy and sell the same way they do now, only utilizing a much more efficient and easy-to-use medium-the Internet. "The leadership of Houston Street Exchange has a vision for changing the power marketing industry" said Alan Herrick, senior vice president at Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ: SAPE) the e-services consultancy that helped create HoustonStreet.com. "They understand the importance of first-mover advantage and the need to continually provide a world-class experience for their targeted market. Sapient is delighted to be Houston Street's partner." Built with power traders in mind Designed by power traders for power traders, HoustonStreet.com enables users to maintain total control over each transaction, view their complete trading history, sort offers and bids by price, term, volume and delivery point, and trade 24 hours a day, 365 days a year using an online service that ensures the security and anonymity of each transaction. Easy to access, navigate and use, HoustonStreet.com gives traders up-to-the-second market information, allowing them to make the best deals at the right time without having to leave the site. Traders are able to customize their Web page so they can see information that may impact decisions on trading strategy such as updated weather reports, news headlines about the energy industry and stock prices. HoustonStreet.com provides users with the ability to enter their own information regarding trading agreements and credit status without betraying the anonymity of other parties. Knowing whether an enabling agreement is in place and credit issues have been resolved beforehand gives a power marketer a tremendous advantage in making split-second decisions. Because of its ease of use and real-time environment, HoustonStreet.com will allow power traders to make more transactions and become more efficient. HoustonStreet.com will initially cover the Northeast regions (NEPOOL, PJM, NY) and expects to roll out the remaining trading regions of the country over the next several months. "Wholesale power trading in the United States has grown by about 900 percent since 1996. In 1998, more than 3.0 billion megawatt hours were traded, with virtually all of it done over the telephone," said Frank Getman, Houston Street Exchange's president and CEO. "We are redefining how power is traded in the wholesale market, making it much more efficient and easy for power marketers to buy and sell electricity. HoustonStreet.com represents a powerful convergence of two major trends: growth of business-to-business e-commerce and deregulation of the electric power industry." About Sapient Sapient Corporation is an innovative e-services consultancy. Through the delivery of integrated services, from business strategy and organizational transformation consulting through user-centered design and technology implementation, Sapient helps emerging and evolving businesses transform themselves into e-businesses. Founded in 1991, Sapient has experienced strong and consistent revenue growth in each of the last eight years. The company currently has more than 1,600 employees in offices in Cambridge, Mass., the company's headquarters, as well as London, Sydney, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles. More information on Sapient can be found at www.sapient.com. About Houston Street Exchange Designed by power traders for power traders, Houston Street Exchange has developed the first Web portal for trading wholesale electric power. HoustonStreet.com provides an online trading floor that allows power marketers to trade power faster, more efficiently and more easily than they do today. Launched June 28, 1999, Houston Street Exchange is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Houston Street Exchange is a wholly owned subsidiary of BayCorp Holdings, Ltd., (AMEX: MWH). For more information, visit Houston Street at www.houstonstreet.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause these forward-looking statements to be materially inaccurate. These factors include, without limitation, that (i) power traders may be unwilling or unable to use Internet-based power trading systems, including HoustonStreet.com, (ii) HoustonStreet.com may not be able to operate profitably, (iii) technological or systems outages could occur and (iv) competitors with greater financial, marketing or other resources could emerge. HoustonStreet.com is a registered service mark of Houston Street Exchange. Sapient is a registered service mark of Sapient Corporation. CONTACT: Beaupre & Co. Public Relations, Inc. Christa Branscombe, 603/559-5804
|