=DJ WRAP: Fatal Explosion Rocks Enron Teesside Facility
2001-08-08 14:32 (New York)


  By Geoffrey T. Smith
  OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
  LONDON (Dow Jones)--Two people died and another two were seriously injured by
a massive explosion and ensuing fire at Enron Corp's Teesside power station
Wednesday.
  The accident is one of the worst in the U.K.'s electricity sector in recent
memory and the first fatal one in generation for over two years. It will keep
the 1,875 megawatt power station, the world's largest combined-cycle gas
turbine facility, out of action until the U.K.'s Health and Safety Executive
has completed an investigation into the incident.
  "Enron will have to put forward a safety case for us to approve before they
will be able to restart the plant," a spokesman for the Health and Safety
Executive told Dow Jones Newswires. He added that the investigation has begun
but that it is too early to say how long it will last.
  A spokesman for the Cleveland Fire Brigade was unable to confirm television
reports that the explosion which caused the fire, had been traced to
transformers at the plant, which are usually oil-filled. However, he said that
the transformers were "possibly" the source of the explosion.
  The Fire Brigade spokesman confirmed that there were no off-site effects and
that there is no risk of further explosions.
  The Teesside power project is located next to one of the U.K.'s busiest gas
import terminals, which takes up to 10% of gas coming ashore into the U.K..
However, a spokesman for U.K. pipeline operator Transco said that flows through
the terminal had been unaffected.
  "Gas is flowing normally through the terminal," the spokesman confirmed.
  The loss of life adds a tragic dimension to a project which has been a source
both of pride and consternation to Enron in the past. The project is a flagship
combined heat and power facility that achieves extremely high levels of energy
efficiency by feeding power and heat into an adjacent industrial park.
  However, Enron has already in the past had other problems relating to gas
supplies for the plant. In January, the House Of Lords, the U.K.'s highest
legal instance, told Enron to pay $144 million back to the five oil and gas
companies that own and operate the Central Area Transmission System, or CATS, a
pipeline which feeds gas into the north-east of England from a number of North
Sea fields.
  The payment related to witheld payments for gas deliveries that Enron had
contracted to take, largely for use at Teesside.
  Curiously, the accident had little direct effect on either spot or forward
prices in the U.K. power or gas markets, due in part to the fact that low
seasonal demand levels mean that there is plenty of spare capacity to meet the
shortfall in supply.
  Enron said in a statement late Wednesday that "the sympathy and thoughts of
all Enron employees are with the friends and families of the victims."
  An Enron spokesman was due to make a fuller statement in Stockton-on-Tees in
northern England at 1745 GMT. No one else at Enron was immediately able to give
more details regarding the extent of damage to the plant.
  -By Geoffrey T. Smith, Dow Jones Newswires; (+44 20) 7842 9260;
  -geoffrey.smith@dowjones.com
  Additional reporting by Sarah Spikes and Germana Canzi in London



Two Killed, Two Hurt in Blast at Enron U.K Plant (Update2)
2001-08-08 14:12 (New York)

Two Killed, Two Hurt in Blast at Enron U.K Plant (Update2)

     (Adds no effect expected on U.K. power supply in third
paragraph.)

     London, Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Enron Corp. said two workers
died and two others were seriously injured in an explosion and
fire at a power station it operates and partly owns in northeast
England.
     The 1,875-megawatt plant was shut down after the explosion,
and Enron operators couldn't say when generation might resume,
spokeswoman Julie Green said in London. In the U.S., 1,875
megawatts can light almost 1.9 million homes.
     The accident will have ``absolutely no effect'' on U.K. power
supplies, said John Wilkinson, a spokesman for Innogy Plc, which
buys power from the plant in Teesside, 300 miles north of London.
     ``There's quite a bit of overcapacity in the U.K., and there
is not a great demand for power in summer,'' Wilkinson said.
     Two men suffered burns in the blast at the gas-fired plant,
police spokeswoman Michelle Robson said. She didn't give the cause
of the explosion or identify the casualties.
     The plant supplies power to petrochemical businesses on the
Wilton industrial site. Health and safety inspectors joined
police, fire and ambulance workers at the scene, Robson said.
     ``There are no dangers of any further explosions,'' Robson
said.
     The explosion was reported earlier today by Sky News.
     Enron shares fell 78 cents to $42.82 in midafternoon trading.