Enron Gets Electricity Contract
The Wall Street Journal, 04/04/01

Energy Companies Use Sports to Win Market Share
PR Newswire, 04/04/01

ITALY: ANALYSIS-Power competition makes little headway in Spain.
Reuters English News Service, 04/04/01

V-SPAN Acquires Peer Digital to Form Largest Independent Video Collaboration 
and Broadband Conferencing Service Provider
Business Wire, 04/04/01

UK: BP,Exxon,Shell may pip Total in Saudi deals-industry.
Reuters English News Service, 04/04/01

Sierra Pacific's cold feet may ruin PGE's consolidation chances
Associated Press Newswires, 04/04/01

World's Largest Energy Companies Attend TIBCO Software's Energy Technology 
And Trading Conference
PR Newswire, 04/04/01

India: Food court at Tidel Park
Business Line (The Hindu), 04/04/01

India: 'Dabhol bill can be adjusted against MSEB rebate'
Business Line (The Hindu), 04/04/01

Dec guarantee not to be honoured
Business Standard, 04/04/01



Enron Gets Electricity Contract

04/04/2001
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

HOUSTON -- Enron Corp. said it signed an agreement to provide more than $600 
million of electricity to J.C. Penney Co. 
The energy concern said it will provide electricity to 1,250 J.C. Penney 
retail locations in 50 states. The Dallas retailer said the move will protect 
it from volatile energy prices. The companies declined to comment on the 
length of the contract.
In 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Enron fell $2.51 to 
$54.07 and J.C Penney fell four cents to $15.55.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


Energy Companies Use Sports to Win Market Share

04/04/2001
PR Newswire
(Copyright (c) 2001, PR Newswire)

BOULDER, Colo., April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- As umpires shout "Play Ball!" and the 
first pitch is thrown at Enron Field, Cinergy Field, and Edison Field, the 
biggest winners of the day may not be the teams on the field. No matter what 
the final score is, the stadium sponsors will have won significant marketing 
and branding advantages over their competitors. Or so goes the thinking in 
the war rooms of an increasing number of utility companies. 
Ballparks, racetracks, and even local playgrounds have become new arenas for 
energy industry competition. As never before, energy companies are sponsoring 
golf tournaments; major and minor league baseball, football, basketball, and 
hockey teams; college sports; soccer matches; local events; horse racing, and 
even the Olympics. The list is nearly as long as the Cinergy Indianapolis 
marathon.
Sport marketing -- the corporate sponsorship of a sporting event or team for 
the purpose of marketing a product or service -- is big business worldwide. 
In 2000, U.S. corporations alone spent $5.92 billion on sport sponsorships, 
up 16% from 1999. 
"Energy companies represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the sport 
sponsorship market," says Matthew Joyce, an energy industry analyst at E 
Source and co-author of a new report on sport sponsorship. "Under pressure to 
differentiate themselves in a changing energy marketplace, many utilities and 
competitive energy service providers are turning to sport marketing to link 
their products and services with popular sporting events and teams," adds 
Joyce. These firms are sponsoring sports to increase name recognition, 
improve sales, and demonstrate good corporate citizenship, as well as to 
accomplish a host of other goals. 
Sports hold a universal appeal -- the desire to play is inherently human. Few 
other elements of society command the passion or participation engendered by 
sports. "In one form or another, sports encompass nearly the entire 
demographic spectrum. It taps into people's emotions, making it an especially 
attractive marketing vehicle," adds the report's co-author, Melissa Tuck, 
also of E Source. 
Though multi-million-dollar stadium naming agreements grab headlines, many 
firms are achieving their marketing objectives through less expensive, 
lower-profile sponsorships such as donating land for local sports fields, 
refurbishing parks, sponsoring youth sport clinics, and supporting charity 
events. But at every level of competition, energy companies are striving to 
create connections that will give rise to business relationships that fans 
will love and their rivals will hate. 
The just-published report from E Source, "Playing to Win: Sport Marking for 
ESPs," examines sport marketing efforts across the energy industry -- from 
major stadium and arena naming deals to corporate sponsorship of grassroots 
sporting events. It pinpoints factors that determine whether energy service 
providers should consider sport marketing as an integral part of their 
strategic marketing plan and outlines criteria for determining whether a 
given sponsorship is having the desired effect. 
For more information on this and other E Source research contact Matthew 
Joyce at 720-548-5676. Media contact: Jim Keener at 720-548-5624. 
E Source, a trademark of FT Energy, Inc., is an energy information and 
consulting service providing organizations with unbiased, independent 
analysis of retail energy markets, services, and technologies. E Source 
clients include more than 400 electric and gas utilities and other energy 
service providers, large corporate and institutional energy users, government 
agencies, energy service companies, manufacturers, consultants, research 
institutions, and other organizations in more than three-dozen countries 
worldwide. 
To see the FT Energy press room, which includes information on how to receive 
press releases and other information, please visit 
http://www.ftenergy.com/press.asp.

/CONTACT: Jim Keener of FT Energy, Inc., 720-548-5624, jkeener@ftenergy.com, 
for E Source/ 07:57 EDT 

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


ITALY: ANALYSIS-Power competition makes little headway in Spain.
By Dominique Magada

04/04/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

VENICE, Italy, April 4 (Reuters) - Spain has not yet introduced fair 
competition in its power market which is still dominated by domestic 
utilities, new entrants to the Spanish market said this week. 
"The impact of the opening of the market to competition in Spain has been 
close to nothing," Steven Taylor, origination manager at independent power 
producer (IPP) Cinergy Global Power in Spain, told an energy conference.
"There are 20 new entrants in Spain and they haven't had much impact on 
generation or supply." 
Among new entrants other than his company, he mentioned U.S firms TXU Europe, 
AES Corporation and Enron, German RWE, Electricidad de Portugal, Intergen and 
Belgian Electrabel. 
French utility Electricite de France, which is also keen to buy a stake in 
the Spanish power sector, has been selling electricity to Spain since before 
liberalisation. 
Taylor said reasons for the lack of competition in the Spanish market include 
the lengthy process for new plants' planning permission, difficulties in 
securing gas supply contracts for new plants and the lack of regulatory 
intervention in the market place. 
"We need a regulator with more teeth to regulate the market," he said. 
LACK OF GAS COMPETITION A BIG PROBLEM 
He added that another issue is the lack of liquidity in the gas market and 
the absence so far of gas-to-gas competition which makes it hard for new 
entrants to secure supplies. 
"A number of plants have received planning permission but are not secure 
deals for the supply of gas to the plants," said Tony Taylor, Director of 
fuel procurement at IPP Intergen, a Shell-Bechtel joint venture, also 
involved in Spain. 
Gas markets in Europe were liberalised last August when the EU Gas Directive 
came into force. 
The sector is gradually opening starting with large industrial consumers 
representing about 30 percent of demand allowed to switch supplier. 
But many market participants complain that the Spain's gas market is still 
dominated by the country's largest gas company Gas Natural which has 
long-term gas supply contracts with Algeria and other producers. 
"Last June the government announced urgent measures to auction 25 percent of 
the gas coming from Algeria. We are still waiting for the auction process to 
be published," said Cinergy's Stephen Taylor. 
MORE POWER STATIONS URGENTLY NEEDED 
Market participants agree that the lack of gas competition will hinder the 
development of new gas-fired plants, urgently needed to meet growing 
electricity demand in Spain forecast to be around four percent per year. 
"The opening of the gas market is essential. The system will need more 
capacity in the next years and gas must be provided on competitive terms," 
said Antonio Canoyra, head of trading at power generator Union Fenosa. 
An obstacle to building new power stations is the length of the planning 
permission process, which can take up to three years and hinders development 
of the IPP market in Spain. 
"The demand is growing faster than new plants because of the long lead time," 
said Cinergy's Taylor. 
However, Spain's regulator Alberto de Frutos, deputy director of regulator 
National Energy Commission said that he "would be pleased to see the new IPPs 
in the market in Spain". 
But he reminded the audience that "three years ago when the market was 
liberalised, there was a clear excess of capacity in the system and no room 
for new projects."

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 





V-SPAN Acquires Peer Digital to Form Largest Independent Video Collaboration 
and Broadband Conferencing Service Provider

04/04/2001
Business Wire
(Copyright (c) 2001, Business Wire)

PHILADELPHIA & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 04, 2001--V-SPAN Inc., a 
provider of virtual global conferencing solutions, today announced the 
acquisition of Peer Digital (formerly 1 800 Video-On, Inc.), an international 
telecommunications conferencing service provider. 
The combination will form the largest independent video collaboration and 
broadband conferencing service provider.
The company will retain the V-SPAN name and will be managed by a seasoned 
team led by CEO and Founder of V-SPAN, J. Kenyon Hayward (42). Former 
President and CEO of Peer Digital, John D. Field (51), will assume the duties 
of Chief Operating Officer / President and V-SPAN's Richard B. Ruben (46) 
will be Chief Strategy and Financial Officer. 
Both firms are privately held and terms of the deal were not disclosed. Key 
investors for V-SPAN include Comcast Interactive Capital, Goldman Sachs, 
Enron, Motorola and Edison Ventures. Wind Point Partners of Chicago was the 
majority investor of Peer Digital. 
Experienced conferencing professionals founded both V-SPAN and Peer Digital 
in 1995. "Each organization has a history of commitment to customers, 
employees and shareholders," said Hayward. "The combination of our expertise, 
breadth of services and understanding of customer requirements will continue 
to position V-SPAN as the industry leader in traditional and next generation 
conferencing," emphasized Hayward. 
V-SPAN video, audio and data collaboration and streaming solutions are 
available through Web self-enabled or fully operator-assisted scheduling of 
conferences and facilities. Reservation-less video, audio and webconferencing 
enable customers to meet with ease and convenience. Event management and 
production services facilitate high impact meetings and conferences for 
customers. 
The V-SPAN customer base of more than 2,000 organizations is comprised of 
Fortune 500 and Global 2000 multinationals, educational and medical 
institutions, government agencies, international and U.S.-based carriers and 
equipment manufacturers that demand rich media collaboration services. 
There are several customer benefits that result from this combination 
according to Field, "A major benefit is a powerful suite of back-office 
applications that provide conferencing management, customized billing and 
maintenance management. Our quality of service for IP-based conferencing 
allows our carrier partners and customers the ability to experience superior 
performance over next generation networks. The expanded network (ISDN & IP) 
will provide a higher level of redundancy for customers. Additionally, the 
opportunity to drive efficiencies for collaboration services based upon new 
offerings and economies of scale is improved via this transaction." 
"V-SPAN is a company totally focused on conferencing and collaboration," said 
Ruben. "This focus puts customer service and innovation into prominence." As 
for marketplace timing, "Conferencing and collaboration services are now in 
higher demand than ever before, driven by organizational needs for increased 
productivity, shortened cycle times in product development, marketing and 
personnel recruiting, inconvenience of traveling and increased pressure on 
companies to reduce travel costs. Our industry is in a state of consolidation 
and V-SPAN intends to lead this movement," added Ruben. 
The worldwide corporate headquarters are based in Philadelphia with network 
operations and customer service centers additionally located in Denver, 
Toronto, Glasgow and London. Sales offices are distributed globally. 

About V-SPAN: 

V-SPAN provides virtual global communications solutions over traditional and 
next-generation networks to corporations, carriers, and ISPs. V-SPAN's suite 
of applications and back office network connectivity services enable 
on-demand multimedia conferencing and streaming for meetings, events and 
training. 
Through its premier customer service, V-SPAN empowers enterprises to extend 
their communications reach, reduce business cycles, expand global presence 
and maximize competitive advantages. More information is available at 
www.vspan.com. 

V-SPAN is a service mark of V-SPAN, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names 
are the property of their respective companies.


CONTACT: V-SPAN, Philadelphia Mark Evans, 610/382-4086 mevans@vspan.com or 
Peer Digital Phil Samuels, 303/448-7821 www.peerdigital.com 
07:01 EDT APRIL 4, 2001 


Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 



UK: BP,Exxon,Shell may pip Total in Saudi deals-industry.

04/04/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - BP could soon be clinching a surprise deal to 
become a consortium leader for a core venture in Saudi Arabia's multi-billion 
dollar gas opening, industry sources said on Wednesday. 
If the British-based major pulls it off it would edge out top contender 
TotalFinaElf in the stampede to cash in on Saudi Arabia's biggest energy 
opening since nationalisation in 1975, the sources said.
Last-minute brinkmanship has apparently delayed the signing of memoranda of 
understanding (MOUs) with Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest holder of oil 
reserves and fifth largest of gas reserves. 
"Total does not seem to be in. The name has not come up lately. It looks like 
BP," an industry source told Reuters. 
ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch/Shell also appear to have secured deals with 
Riyadh to become consortium leaders of two other gas ventures, the industry 
sources said. 
Top executives of the oil companies are expected to receive invitations to 
sign the MOUs in about two weeks. That would mark the biggest step forward 
since Saudi Arabia unveiled its energy sector investment opening to oil 
majors two years ago. 
Saudi officials declined to comment. 
Signing a deal would be a major coup for BP because the company is seen as an 
outsider in Saudi Arabia, unlike other Western firms with a long history 
there. 
BP, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch/Shell, TotalFinaElf and Chevron are grouped for 
core venture one, the South Ghawar field. TotalFinaElf had been seen as the 
favourite to operate the venture worth an estimated $15 billion but now may 
just get a non-operating stake. 
ExxonMobil is poised to lead core venture two to develop the Red Sea area, 
with TotalFinaElf, Royal Dutch/Shell and Marathon vying for non-operating 
shares. 
Royal Dutch/Shell is expected to clinch core venture three to develop gas at 
Shaybah, with Conoco, ExxonMobil, TotalFinaElf, Phillips and Enron/Oxy 
getting stakes. 
The projects are to help develop existing gas reserves and invest in 
downstream projects fed by gas supplies, such as power and desalination. 
"Every company will get something," said an industry source. 
Although Saudi Arabia has enticed the world's biggest energy firms by opening 
up the upstream gas sector, investment in its prized oil sector remains off 
limits.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


Sierra Pacific's cold feet may ruin PGE's consolidation chances

04/04/2001
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A Nevada-based power company is having second thoughts 
about a merger with Portland General Electric, an uncertainty that could ruin 
PGE's consolidation chances with other companies. 
"I don't see any eager buyers out there," said Justin McCann, a senior 
analyst with Standard & Poor's. "Things are pretty rocky at the moment."
Analysts said Northwest Natural Gas in Portland, Puget Energy in Bellevue, 
Wash., and IdaCorp in Boise could be interested in PGE if Sierra Pacific and 
Enron Corp., PGE's parent company, part ways. 
The Houston-based Enron and Sierra Pacific have until May 5 to close the 
deal. After that, either company can walk away. 
Officials from both companies have said changing regulatory and financial 
conditions make closure unlikely. Houston-based Enron said it's prepared to 
wait patiently for another offer. 
Enron, an energy and trading company, bought PGE in 1997 so it could benefit 
from markets with greater competition and less government regulation - but 
quickly decided to sell the capital-intensive PGE. 
In November 1999, Sierra Pacific Resources announced plans to buy PGE for 
$3.1 billion in cash and assumed debt, an amount similar to what Enron paid 
two years earlier. 
Last summer, energy shortages and high wholesale electricity prices cut into 
Sierra Pacific's finances. The company, which is owned by Nevada Power, hoped 
to sell many of its generating facilities to secure financing for the PGE 
purchase. 
But the Nevada Legislature is about to ban the sale of generating plants 
because lawmakers are worried those sales will narrow strained wholesale 
power markets. 
Sierra Pacific's weakened financial state means the federal Securities and 
Exchange Commission likely won't approve the merger. 
Talk about replacement bidders may be more speculation than fact. 
"It's probably going to be somebody close by," said Doug May, a senior 
portfolio manager with Wells Fargo Private Asset Management in Grand 
Junction, Colo. "It's tough to come in from another part of the country." 
Analysts haven't ruled out foreign companies, however. ScottishPower became 
the first foreign company to buy a U.S. electric utility when it purchased 
Portland-based PacifiCorp in December 1999. 
"This whole California thing has made everyone very cautious," said McCann, 
of Standard & Poor's. "People want to see the situation sort itself out."


Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 



World's Largest Energy Companies Attend TIBCO Software's Energy Technology 
And Trading Conference

04/04/2001
PR Newswire
(Copyright (c) 2001, PR Newswire)

Enron, Dynegy, Texaco and Other TIBCO Customers That Depend on Real-Time 
Trading and Systems Integration Meet In Texas
HOUSTON, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- TIBCO Software Inc. (Nasdaq: TIBX) is 
hosting more than 200 customers, partners and prospects at its annual Energy 
Users Conference today through Thursday in Houston, Texas. Customer attendees 
include Enron, Dynegy, Reliant Energy, El Paso Corporation, Altra Energy 
Technologies, Coral Energy, Duke Energy, Mirant, Marathon, Texaco, TXU 
Energy, Equiva, Williams and more. Systems Integrator participates include 
Accenture, Luminant, Zetta Works, and Deloitte Consulting. 
During the conference, TIBCO, a leading provider of real-time e-business 
infrastructure software that powers real-time energy trading floors, will be 
announcing several new customers, and a number of existing customers will be 
demonstrating how they use TIBCO's energy business integration solution to 
grow within any economic condition. Additionally, several of TIBCO's systems 
integration partners will discuss how they depend upon TIBCO products to 
create technology solutions specific to the energy industry. 
"Companies that don't adopt technology solutions that enable real-time 
Internet trading and systems integration, will not survive in the deregulated 
energy market," said Vivek Ranadive, chairman and CEO, TIBCO Software. 
"Real-time trading and systems integration is exactly what TIBCO's software 
provides. That's why the world's leaders, and all of those looking to 
catch-up, are attending this conference" 
About TIBCO Software Inc. 
TIBCO Software Inc. is a leading provider of real-time e-business 
infrastructure software. TIBCO's four product lines -- TIBCO 
ActiveEnterprise(TM), TIBCO ActiveExchange(TM), TIBCO ActivePortal(TM) and 
TIBCO Extensibility(TM) -- enable businesses to integrate enterprise 
applications, interact with other businesses in B2B commerce, and efficiently 
deliver personalized information through enterprise portals. TIBCO's products 
enable the real-time distribution of information through patented technology 
called The Information Bus(TM), or TIB(R). TIB technology was first used to 
digitize Wall Street and has since been adopted in diverse industries 
including telecommunications, electronic commerce, manufacturing and energy. 
TIBCO's global direct customer base includes more than 800 customers from 
around the world such as Cisco Systems, Yahoo!, Ariba, NEC, Enron, Sun 
Microsystems, GE Capital, Philips, AT&T, Pirelli and AOL/Netscape. 
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, TIBCO can be reached at 650-846-1000 
or on the web at www.tibco.com.


/CONTACT: Joe Franscella, 650-846-5607, or mobile, 650-867-5038, or 
joef@tibco.com, or Caroline Phillips, 650-846-5697, or mobile, 650-619-5109, 
or caroline@tibco.com, both of TIBCO Software Inc./ 05:59 EDT 

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


India: Food court at Tidel Park

04/04/2001
Business Line (The Hindu)
Copyright (C) 2001 Kasturi & Sons Ltd (KSL); Source: World Reporter (TM) - 
Asia Intelligence Wire

CHENNAI, April 3. RADHAKRISHNA Hospitality Services Ltd (RKHS), a joint 
venture between the Radhakrishna group and Eurest International, a part of 
Compass Granada Plc of the UK, has set up a 12,600 sq. ft. food court at the 
Tidel Software Park in Chennai. 
According to Mr Saajid Khan, Vice-President, RKHS, this is the first RKHS 
food court in the business and industry segment. RKHS, which initially 
catered to food services requirements of offshore and remote site business 
and institutional projects, recently diversified to land operations.
It had set up facilities in retail outlets such as Shoppers' Stop, with which 
it has a national agreement, camps, hospitals and a range of business and 
industrial establishments such as Hyundai, Enron and Ford India, he said. 
RKHS saw food courts as an ideal solution for the white-collar business and 
industry customers, he said. It offers a range of cuisines at an affordable 
cost. In addition, the latest trends in ambience, variety - through a buffet 
environment - and quality were addressed, Mr Khan said. 
The company has entered into an agreement with Pizza Corner to set up a shop 
within the food court. RKHS will also bring in international Compass brands 
such as Caffe Ritazza and StopGap Express. Caffe Ritazza is a gourmet coffee 
brand which will offer a wide range of coffees including the traditional 
filter coffee, popular espresso-based coffees, flavoured coffees and cold 
coffees, according to him. 
StopGap Express was a convenience store format with pre-packed food products 
catering to between-meal or late-evening snack requirement, he said. 
The exclusive agreement with Tidel gives RKHS a 10,000 strong potential 
clientele by the year-end. Now, there are 30-35 software companies and about 
4,000 software professionals. Industry estimates pegged that at least 30 per 
cent would drop in for a bite, according to Mr Khan. 
The facility at Tidel has been set up at a cost of Rs 1 crore, and has the 
latest in kitchen equipment. Safety and hygiene are the talking points, and 
RKHS also plans to launch event management for the software companies by 
handling their catering requirements during seminars and conferences, 
according to him. 
- Our Bureau

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


India: 'Dabhol bill can be adjusted against MSEB rebate'

04/04/2001
Business Line (The Hindu)
Copyright (C) 2001 Kasturi & Sons Ltd (KSL); Source: World Reporter (TM) - 
Asia Intelligence Wire

MUMBAI, April 3. THE Union Finance Ministry has said the Rs 102-crore 
December bill, for which Enron had invoked the counter-guarantee, can be 
adjusted against the Rs 401-crore rebate slapped by the Maharashtra State 
Electricity Board (MSEB) on Dabhol Power Company (DPC). 
A letter from the Finance Ministry to the Maharashtra Government said the Rs 
102-crore December bill "is not payable." MSEB had asked the Centre not to 
pay Rs 102 crore to DPC claiming that the amount could be adjusted against 
the Rs 401-crore rebate. The Centre had then referred the matter to the Union 
Law Ministry.
"The Finance Ministry has already sent a letter to DPC saying that the money 
can be adjusted," a senior State Government official said. 
MSEB had asked DPC to pay up Rs 401 crore rebate after it was "unable" to 
provide power at 90 per cent plant load factor in the last week of January 
2001. 
DPC had invoked Union Government guarantee on March 8, for the second time 
since February 6, after the State refused to honour its guarantee for the Rs 
102-crore December bill. MSEB had asked the State Government also to not pay 
DPC as the bill. 
According to the PPA, DPC has to provide power to MSEB at 90 per cent PLF 
within three hours of demand. MSEB officials said the company failed to 
comply with the provision making DPC liable to pay the penalty. 
According to DPC, however, "everywhere in the world, power plants need five 
to six hours of start-up time." It has maintained that it is "not possible to 
ramp-up generation as required by MSEB." 
But senior MSEB officials said the Union Government may end up honouring the 
guarantee on "administrative grounds." 
"DPC has invoked Central guarantee and the Government cannot easily sweep it 
off. But the Finance Ministry has vindicated our claim," the MSEB official 
said. 
- Archana Chaudhary

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


Dec guarantee not to be honoured
S Ravindran Mumbai

04/04/2001
Business Standard
1
Copyright (c) Business Standard

The Maharashtra government seems to have gone one up on Enron in the Dabhol 
controversy. In a fresh twist to the drama, the Union government has decided 
not to honour the counter-guarantee invoked by the Dabhol Power Company for 
the December, 2000, bill of Rs 102 crore. 
The government has contended that this bill be adjusted against the claim of 
Rs 400 crore slapped by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board on DPC. This 
opens up the possibility of DPC seeking justice in the London Court of 
Arbitration. This is permissible under the terms of the power purchase 
agreement.
Senior state government officials told Business Standard: "The 
finance ministry has already written to DPC on this issue on Monday." 
The Centre's move is being seen as a clear vindication of MSEB and the state 
government's stand. 
A DPC spokesman said, "We confirm that the government of India has 
communicated that until the declaration issue (the Rs 400 crore penalty) is 
resolved, it does not intend to pay the December bill under the counter 
guarantee." 
"We are disappointed with the Indian government's decision which is contrary 
to legal opinion from both Indian and international experts. Their position 
is in conflict with the PPA. We are evaluating the situation in consultation 
with our partners and lenders," he added. 
DPC had invoked the Central government guarantee on March 8 after MSEB failed 
to clear its dues of Rs 102 crore for December, 2000. Earlier it had invoked 
the state government guarantee but state did not honour it. 
MSEB then retaliated by despatching a notice to DPC that it cough up Rs 400 
crore towards payment for non-supply of electricity at required levels during 
various periods between October, 2000 and January 28, 2001. This stand also 
found favour with the state government but was hotly contested by DPC. 
Meanwhile, in a bid to resolve the imbroglio, the Union government referred 
the matter to the law ministry. Under the terms of the PPA such disputes 
could be resolved every four months through mutual consultations. DPC took 
the line that the four month period for this dispute expired on January 25 
when the December bill became due.

Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.