Please see below.  FERC is "mulling over" whether to exert broader authority over the UBS purchase.

Jim

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Nicolay, Christi L.  
Sent:	Wednesday, January 16, 2002 4:20 PM
To:	Steffes, James D.
Subject:	FW: FERC Oversight



 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Corman, Shelley  
Sent:	Wednesday, January 16, 2002 4:19 PM
To:	Nicolay, Christi L.
Subject:	FERC Oversight

US FERC Mulls Scope Of Authority Over Enron-UBS Deal

01/16/2002 
Dow Jones Energy Service 
(Copyright (c) 2002, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) 
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- UBS Warburg's bid to take over the energy trading business of Enron Corp. (ENE) will require Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, FERC Chairman Pat Wood III confirmed Wednesday. 
Once cleared by the bankruptcy court, FERC expects to receive an application for approval of the deal under the commission's authority, Wood told reporters. 
FERC's jurisdiction involves the transfer of Enron's commission-granted authority to regulate the rates at which Enron sells electricity and natural gas, said Cynthia Marlette, FERC's general counsel. 
But Marlette indicated the commission is mulling whether to exert a broader regulatory reach over the deal. "The commission hasn't opined yet whether it has jurisdiction over the corporate transfer," she said. 
As announced in recent days, UBS Warburg, a unit of UBS AG (U.UBS), will assume Enron's trading business with little if any cash up front, while paying Enron royalties equal to 33% of pre-tax earnings. 
The bankruptcy judge is due to rule on the deal later this week.