USA: Con Ed Urges FERC to Fix N.Y. Wholesale Electric Market
Reuters English News Service, 01/23/2001

Enron to Webcast Annual Investor Conference
PR Newswire, 01/23/2001

USA: U.S. Cash LPG - Market Drops on Softer NYMEX Nat Gas
Reuters English News Service, 01/23/2001

California Regulators May Block Sales of Nevada Power Plants
Asociated Press Newswires, 01/23/2001


USA: Con Ed urges FERC to fix N.Y. wholesale electric market.

01/23/2001
Reuters English News Service 
(C) Reuters Limited 2001. 

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Consolidated Edison Inc. , in an effort to 
protect its more than three million electric customers, urged the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to adopt mechanisms to reduce price 
spikes. 
At the opening of a two-day FERC hearing in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 22-23, 
Con Ed said in a statement it called for changes in the way the New York 
Independent System Operator (NYISO) administers the electric wholesale 
marketplace.
The NYISO was the entity authorized by the FERC to administer the state's 
competitive wholesale electric market. 
In addition, Con Ed called on the FERC to correct market flaws that allow 
power generators to exercise market power, and penalize those generators 
shown to be gaming the market to their own advantage. 
"The NYISO must take corrective action quickly to protect consumers and to 
assure them that the markets are indeed functioning efficiently and 
competitively," Con Ed said in its remarks. 
Con Ed is an holding company based in New York City that provides 
energy-related products and services through two regulated utility 
subsidiaries - Con Ed of New York Inc. and Orange and Rockland Electric Co. - 
and four competitive energy and telecommunications businesses. 
Con Ed proposed a new "circuit breaker" mechanism to hold prices down when 
the wholesale electric market was not competitive, which could occur when 
usage was high and power supplies were extremely tight. The circuit breaker 
would help prevent unreasonable price volatility. 
"Relative to estimated costs to produce energy, the energy markets frequently 
do not produce prices that are competitive, Con Ed said in its remarks to the 
FERC. 
Moreover, Con Ed said customers should be eligible for retroactive refunds if 
a power generator abuses the system and charges more than a competitive 
price. 
"Our customers must be protected from uncompetitive energy prices this 
summer," Con Ed of New York Inc. President Kevin Burke said. "There must be 
strong consumer protection tools in place when the marketplace is not truly 
competitive." 
"More generation sources will produce additional competition in the supply of 
electricity, resulting in lower costs to consumers. But until the new plants 
get on line, customers need additional protection from uncompetitive, 
inflated prices," Burke added. 
Since 1997, Con Ed said it has been reducing the portion of the electric bill 
it controls - the delivery of electrical power. 
Under an agreement approved by the New York State Public Service Commission 
last year, Con Ed was providing an additional $1.5 billion of reductions in 
delivery rates, which followed $1.1 billion in rate reductions granted in the 
1997 agreement. These new reductions will be in effect at least until 2005. 
The average Con Ed residential customer will save an additional $50 in 2001. 
The average large commercial customer will save about $1,000. 
However, the cost to Con Ed of buying electricity from power generators in 
the wholesale market has risen dramatically, which has in turn driven up 
customers' total energy costs because Con Ed passes those costs onto its 
customers.


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Enron to Webcast Annual Investor Conference

01/23/2001
PR Newswire 
(Copyright (c) 2001, PR Newswire) 

HOUSTON, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Enron Corp. (NYSE: ENE) will be hosting its 
annual investor conference on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001. The meeting will be 
webcast live at www.enron.com, starting at 8:00 a.m. (CST). Please contact 
888-457-7469 if you need assistance connecting to the webcast. 
Enron is one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas and 
communications companies. The company, with revenues of $101 billion in 2000, 
markets electricity and natural gas, delivers physical commodities and 
financial and risk management services to customers around the world, and has 
developed an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business. 
Fortune magazine has named Enron "America's Most Innovative Company" for five 
consecutive years, the top company for "Quality of Management" and the second 
best company for "Employee Talent." Enron's Internet address is www.enron
.com. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol "ENE".
Contact: Joannie Williamson of Enron Corp., (713) 853-6021
USA: U.S. Cash LPG - Market drops on softer NYMEX nat gas.

01/23/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

NEW YORK, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas 
liquid (NGL) prices dropped early Tuesday, tracking weakening natural gas 
futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), players said. 
Conway, Kan. propane lost around a nickel to 78.50 cents a gallon in see-saw 
trade, while losing 3.75 cents to 76.25/77.00 cents a gallon in Mont Belvieu, 
Texas, traders said.
"The market is puking today, with gas down" said one Midwest trader. "Natural 
gas was the only thing propane was hanging its hat on, and now that's 
falling." 
Midday, NYMEX natural gas futures were trading 47.70 cents lower at $6.98 per 
million British thermal units (mmBtu) amid continuing warm weather forecasts. 
Crude oil futures were down 63 cents to $29.17 a barrel on profit-taking 
ahead of the release of weekly industry stock data later in the afternoon. 
Conway isobutane, which soared to trade above $1.10 cents a gallon last week, 
subsided, dropping 12.25 cents to 86.00/89.75 cents a gallon on the day, 
players said. The sudden drops over the last two days were interpreted by 
players to mean that a few dealers were caught short last week, and dismissed 
talk of a supply shortage in the region. 
Belvieu isobutane was talked 1.75 cents weaker to be offered at 79.00 cents a 
gallon, dealers said. 
Meanwhile, ethanes also suffered heavy losses, with mix down 3.50 cents to be 
offered at 56.25 cents a gallon in Conway, and down 4.25 cents in Belvieu at 
57.75 cents a gallon. Belvieu purity lost 2.25 cents to trade at 59.75 cents 
a gallon. 
Normal butane lost a nickel in Conway to talk at 80.00/83.00 cents a gallon, 
while losing 3.25 cents to trade at 79.75 cents a gallon in Belvieu, dealers 
said. 
Natural gasoline lost a notional 1.75 cents to be offered at 82.50 cents a 
gallon for Enron barrels in Texas, while Kansas product lost 1.25 cents to 
talk at 83.00/84.50 cents a gallon, traders said. 
- ((Soo Youn, New York Energy Desk, 212-859-1621)).
California regulators may block sales of Nevada power plants

01/23/2001
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The parent company of Nevada Power Co. says California 
regulators might stop it from selling its northern Nevada power plants. 
Sierra Pacific Resources told investors on Monday that if the deal is blocked 
it'll be harder to finance its $3.1 billion dollar acquisition of General 
Electric of Oregon from Enron Corp.
"It's more difficult if you can't sell the plants than if you can," said 
Steve Rigazio, Nevada Power president. 
Las Vegas-based Nevada Power and Reno-based Sierra Pacific want to sell all 
but two of their electricity generation plants. State and federal regulators 
ordered the companies to sell as a condition of their 1999 merger. 
But with power shortages, price spikes and rolling blackouts plaguing the 
West Coast, California legislators last week ordered California utilities not 
to sell power plants before January 2006. 
The new law might prevent Sierra Pacific Power from selling its power plants 
because it serves 40,000 customers in California's Lake Tahoe area. 
Nevada Power said the California law might also block its sale of the Mohave 
power station at Laughlin, Nev., for $134 million to AES Corp. 
Southern California Edison, the majority owner of Mohave, could be blocked by 
the California law. 
The Nevada utility wants to sell two groups of power plants for $545 million 
and has a third power plant on the sales block. 
Nevada's Legislature, which opens Feb. 5, might also prohibit power plant 
sales. 
The Southern Nevada Water Authority board, made up of elected city and county 
officials, last week voted to oppose Nevada power plant sales. The officials 
want to keep the plants as safeguards against high electricity prices. 
Tim Hay, chief of the attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection also 
said this month that the state's coal-fired power plants should not be sold. 
Hay argued that the coal plants could provide at least a minimum amount of 
low-cost electricity to Nevada homes and businesses.