Dynegy: Enron a 'Model Competitor'
It doesn't happen very often, so we're noting an apparently spontaneous comment from Dynegy Counsel Ed Ross at a FERC Roundtable last week that one of his chief competitors, Enron, "has done an excellent job of being competitive." He suggested others could look to Enron as a "model competitor. They've done a very good job of setting up a strong financial desk and a strong physical desk and we don't see any problem with it. I think they have set up their books in a way that they truly have separation between the regulated and unregulated aspects of their business." 
Ross had prefaced the remark, midway through a heated debate on affiliate abuses, with the comment that "this is not an industry-wide problem. I believe there are good and bad players in the market today." 
Earlier, Enron's Leslie Lawner had invited "all of you to spend the day on Enron's trading floor, because I assure you, you will not see a more competitive environment anywhere. There is no way these folks, who fight like cats and dogs among themselves, would voluntarily transfer value to the pipeline group for the good of the bottom line." Lawner had to quickly back off the invitation - mentioning confidentiality restrictions - when it appeared about half the room was ready to troop over to the trading floor.