Enron and Exelon Unit Set Chicago Power Deal
The Wall Street Journal, 06/07/01

World Watch
The Wall Street Journal, 06/07/01

Enron Broadband invests in AP Engines
Houston Chronicle, 06/07/01

Attempt to save Enron power project in India extended to third day 
Houston Chronicle, 06/07/01

Derwent Valley. : Grosvenor Place Pre-letting
Dow Jones International News, 06/07/01

India Dabhol Pwr Lenders Mtg Ends "Positively" - Source
Dow Jones Asian Equities Report, 06/07/01

INDIA: Private firms expect Enron India's woes to end.
Reuters English News Service, 06/07/01

India IDBI Exec Leaves Dabhol Mtg Early; Reason Unknown
Dow Jones International News, 06/07/01

INDIAN PM CONFIDENT OF RESOLVING ENRON DISAGREEMENT SOON
Asia Pulse, 06/07/01

Walking the talk?
The Daily Deal, 06/07/01

GM, Other U.S. Companies Blast Bush Move to Shield Steelmakers
Bloomberg, 06/07/01

Pacific Hydro Bends With the Wind, Flows With Water (Update5)
Bloomberg, 06/07/01

Council status quo for blacks Hispanic growth likely to affect white wards
Chicago Tribune, 06/07/01

Enron Plans to Challenge Power Regulator's Order, Paper Says
Bloomberg, 06/07/01

Since when does rape equal justice?
Chicago Tribune, 06/07/01

PPA in force, claims DPC
Business Standard, 06/07/01

Calif Eyes Ending Access To Alternative Power Suppliers
Dow Jones Energy Service, 06/06/01



Enron and Exelon Unit Set Chicago Power Deal
Dow Jones Newswires

06/07/2001
The Wall Street Journal
A4
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

CHICAGO -- Enron Corp. and Exelon Corp.'s Commonwealth Edison Co. signed an 
agreement to supply power to the city of Chicago and 47 suburban communities, 
in the largest such deal since Illinois deregulated its electricity industry 
in 1997. 
Under the agreement, Enron will provide 60% of the 400 megawatts of power 
contracted annually while ComEd will provide the rest.
Terms of the contract, expected to go into effect this year, weren't 
disclosed. 
The coalition of governments sent out requests for bids to the state's 13 
registered electricity providers last summer in a bid to bring down power 
costs.

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


International
World Watch
Compiled by David I. Oyama

06/07/2001
The Wall Street Journal
A17
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

ASIA/PACIFIC 
Lenders to Enron Unit Continue Talks 
Foreign and Indian lenders are scheduled to meet again today in Singapore, 
after two days of talks with Dabhol Power, U.S. energy company Enron's Indian 
unit, ended in deadlock, according to R.M. Ganatara, general manager of the 
Industrial Development Bank of India. The talks are over the future direction 
of its $2.9 billion power project near Bombay. "Something is being hammered 
out; there isn't a common meeting point yet. We will be looking toward a 
solution to end this crisis" at today's meeting, he said. But he said he 
wasn't "sure how and where the talks will end" concerning the project, which 
has been torn by a bitter dispute between Dabhol and the Maharashtra State 
Electricity Board over nonpayment of bills and power charges. 







June 7, 2001, 12:09AM
Briefs: Houston & state 

Enron Broadband invests in AP Engines
Enron Broadband Services, a division of Houston-based Enron Corp., took part 
in a $30 million venture investment into Massachusetts-based tech firm AP 
Engines. 
Private equity fund Thomas Weisel Capital Partners led the round, while Atlas 
Venture, Bessemer Venture Partners and Commonwealth Capital Ventures, 
Lighthouse Capital Partners and Mentmore Venture Partners also participated 
in the round. 
AP Engines develops software that allows broadband Internet service 
providers, such as cable and telephone companies, to move a variety of data 
types, including, e-mail, voice, video-on-demand and video conferencing over 
their networks. 











June 7, 2001, 9:58PM
Houston Chronicle
Attempt to save Enron power project in India extended to third day 
Bloomberg Business News 
SINGAPORE -- Indian banks that funded Dabhol Power Co., a unit of Enron 
Corp., and international lenders extended a meeting into a third day to try 
to save the $3 billion power project from closure, bankers said Wednesday. 
Executives from Industrial Development Bank of India, or IDBI, other Indian 
banks and international lenders such as ABN Amro Holding NV decided to meet 
again today after initially planning a two-day meeting, the bankers said. 
The meeting was called to resolve a dispute related to power prices that has 
resulted in Dabhol and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, its only 
customer, starting to terminate the project. 
The fate of Houston-based Enron's first investment in India is seen as a 
litmus test for future foreign involvement in infrastructure projects in the 
country. Indian banks have the most at stake. Unlike them, international 
lenders received government guarantees for about $600 million they lent to 
the project. 
The Indian banks, which have given as much as $1.4 billion in unsecured 
loans, are that concerned foreign creditors may call for a termination of the 
project and invoke their guarantees and are seeking ways to keep it alive. 
Lenders such as ABN Amro, Citibank N.A., a unit of Citigroup, Bank of America 
and Credit Suisse First Boston in April approved Dabhol's decision to begin 
termination of its power supply contract with the board. 
Foreign banks wouldn't comment on what solution they are seeking from the 
Indian lenders at the Singapore meeting. 




Derwent Valley. : Grosvenor Place Pre-letting

06/07/2001
Dow Jones International News
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The company has, through one of its subsidiaries, 
pre-let further office space at 21 Grosvenor Place, SW1 to Enron Power 
Operations. 
Enron took 1,980 sq. m (21,300 sq. ft) earlier this year and is now taking an 
additional 1,170 sq. m (12,600 sq. ft), at GBP0.7m per annum.
The rent payable equates to GBP55 per sq. ft, for a lease expiring in 2014, 
with reviews in 2004 and 2009. 
Refurbishment of this newly-let space will be incorporated into the current 
scheme, at an additional cost of GBP1m, with the work scheduled for 
completion at the end of 2001. 
ICV Edited News from Dow Jones

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


India Dabhol Pwr Lenders Mtg Ends "Positively" - Source

06/07/2001
Dow Jones Asian Equities Report
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones) A three-day meeting involving institutional domestic 
and foreign lenders to U.S. Enron Corp.'s (ENE) troubled Dabhol Power Co. 
project in India ended Thursday "positively," one of the lenders told Dow 
Jones Newswires. 
He added no further meetings were planned in Singapore.
Dabhol, India's largest private power plant, was scheduled for commissioning 
in two phases. The project's first phase, a 740-megawatt power plant, has 
already been commissioned and 1,444-megawatt phase two is due to be completed 
later this year. 
The $3 billion Dabhol project has been mired in financial disputes when its 
main customer, the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, has failed to pay 
several of its bills. 
Dabhol has come under fire because of the relatively high cost of its power. 
Critics object to Dabhol charging INR7.1 a kilowatt-hour for its power, 
compared with INR1.5/KWh charged by other suppliers. 
Enron Corp. (ENE) has a 65% controlling stake in the controversial 
2,184-megawatt, $3 billion Dabhol project, which supplies power to the State 
Electricity Board. MSEB has 15%, General Electric Co. (GE) has 10% and 
Bechtel (X.BTL) with 10% are the other shareholders in the project. 
A senior official with an Indian lender involved in the DPC project confirmed 
that the meeting's outcome was positive. 
"There were some positive developments. That's all I can say," the official 
told Dow Jones Newswires by telephone. 
IDBI Executive Director R.S. Agarwal denied media reports that lenders had 
proposed mothballing the second phase of the power project at the lenders 
meeting in Singapore. 
"We aren't considering any such thing. Reports that say so are wrong. That 
was a proposal from Dabhol Power to mothball the DPC's Phase Two for a year," 
Agarwal said, speaking from Bombay. 
The DPC had proposed suspending construction of Phase Two of the power 
project for "about a year or so until basic issues are sorted out," he said. 
"It was felt in the meeting that the (Phase Two) of project should be 
mechanically completed in all respects, and then the project's position 
should be reviewed thereafter," he said. 
"We have forwarded the DPC's proposal to the lenders' engineer Stone & 
Webster (U.SEW) to study its commercial implications and have asked them to 
report back," Aggarwal said. 
He said Stone & Webster's assessment should be completed in around one week's 
time. 
DPC refused to comment on the result of the lenders' meeting. A Bombay-based 
DPC spokesman said he couldn't pass comment on "the internal talks of a 
meeting." 

The second phase of the project, a 1,444 megawatt power plant, is more than 
90% complete. 
Speaking earlier Thursday, Wade Cline, DPC's managing director, said an 
informal deadline of mid-June had been set to decide whether to continue with 
Phase Two construction. However, Cline said the deadline was "not a 
definitive D-Day." 
"One of the key decisions they (the lenders) are focusing on is continuing 
with (Phase Two) construction at the site," he said. 
Wade said that an unspecified sum of money had yet to be paid to Phase Two's 
contractors led by Bechtel (X.BTL). "It's a significant amount of money," 
Cline said, without elaborating further. 
"(Phase Two) of the Project hasn't had any loan disbursements in the last 
three months," he added. 
One informed source familiar with the lenders' discussions said Phase Two 
completion "would require US$500 million," adding the amount owed to 
contractors is in the region of US$30 million-US$40 million. 
Lenders are attempting to steer the government towards considering additional 
buyers for the power produced by DPC. 
"We are now at a time when there isn't a lot of certainty as to who is going 
to buy the power. We are all working to find solutions to that problem," 
Cline said. 
-By Sri Jegarajah, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-415-4066; 
sri.jegarajah@dowjones.com (Himendra Kumar in New Deli and Daniel Pearl of 
the Asian Wall Street Journal contributed to this report.)

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


INDIA: Private firms expect Enron India's woes to end.

06/07/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

NEW DELHI, June 7 (Reuters) - India's private power producers expect an early 
end to the dispute between Enron Corp and a local utility after Prime Minster 
Atal Behari Vajpayee said he was optimistic about the U.S. firm's 
$2.9-billion project. 
"Now the central government is taking interest. That too at the highest 
level. That is very nice," Harry Dhaul, director-general of the Independent 
Power Producers' Association of India, told Reuters.
On Wednesday Vajpayee said he was confident that Dabhol Power Co, 65-percent 
owned by Enron, and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), the 
plant's only buyer, would sort out their problems. 
MSEB, which complains that Dabhol produces costly power, defaulted on 
payments of $48 million to DPC last year. 
The squabble provoked Enron to serve a preliminary termination notice to MSEB 
and the utility declared late in May that it had stopped buying power from 
the controversial plant. 
Dabhol's first phase of 740 MW is already operational and the next phase was 
scheduled to add 1,444 MW later this year. MSEB has already said it would not 
buy power from the project's next phase. 
Private power producers, who have been demanding federal intervention in the 
dispute said Vajpayee's comments augured well for the plant and will help 
refurbish India's image that took a beating after the dispute involving its 
largest direct foreign investor. 
"I think the prime minister has done absolutely the right thing. It is going 
to send the right signal that we are back on track and the international 
investors concern will be duly met."

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


India IDBI Exec Leaves Dabhol Mtg Early; Reason Unknown

06/07/2001
Dow Jones International News
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- Industrial Development Bank of India Executive 
Director R.S. Agarwal returned to India from Singapore late Wednesday after 
two days of talks between domestic and foreign lenders on the future of Enron 
Corp.'s (ENE) troubled Dabhol Power Co. 
Agarwal has returned to India before the meeting has concluded. The meeting - 
originally scheduled for two days - has been extended into a third day as 
both parties have failed to reach any common ground on how to resolve a 
prolonged dispute between the DPC and its sole buyer of power the Maharashtra 
State Electricity Board.
Agarwal didn't give a reason as to why he had returned from the meeting 
early. 

Late Wednesday, R.M. Ganatra, IDBI general manager said talks had ended in a 
deadlock. "Something is being hammered out, there isn't a common meeting 
point yet." 
Speaking from the company's Bombay headquarters, Agarwal said "some (IDBI) 
representatives are there still (in the Singapore lenders' meeting)." He 
didn't elaborate further. DPC officials are also attending the meeting. 
Domestic lenders which include IDBI, State Bank of India (P.SBI) and ICICI 
Ltd. (IC) have lent US$1.4 billion to the US$2.9 billion Dabhol Power 
project. 
Last month, Dabhol Power issued a preliminary notice to terminate its 
agreement to sell power to India's Maharashtra state government and to 
provide power from its online 740-megawatt Dabhol Power plant. 
Dabhol Power issued the notice to terminate after the state failed to pay 
December and January power bills amounting to US$48 million on time. The 
state and Dabhol Power are currently in talks in an effort to see if they can 
renegotiate the deal including a power purchase agreement the state says is 
now too expensive. 
Also, a second phase of the project, a 1,444-megawatt power plant more than 
90% complete, also is in doubt. 
-By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9427; 
himendra.kumar@dowjones.com

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


INDIAN PM CONFIDENT OF RESOLVING ENRON DISAGREEMENT SOON

06/07/2001
Asia Pulse
(c) Copyright 2001 Asia Pulse PTE Ltd.

MUMBAI, June 7 Asia Pulse - The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 
today expressed confidence that the 7-month old imbroglio over purchase of 
power from Enron promoted-Dabhol Power Company (DPC) would be resolved soon. 
Vajpayee, who arrived here for a knee surgery, told reporters that there were 
difficulties in finding a solution, but expressed confidence that the issue 
would be sorted out.
"Right steps are being taken to sort out the matter," he said, adding the 
Maharashtra government and the U S energy major Enron were in a position to 
resolve the imbroglio. 
Centre has already directed the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to scout 
for buyers of DPC power, mainly in the power-deficient states. 
Asked whether the federal government would be buying surplus power from Enron
-promoted Dabhol Power Company, Vajpayee commented "Who will purchase such a 
costly power?" 
(PTI) 07-06 0950

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


Industry Insight
Walking the talk?
by Lachlan Colquhoun

06/07/2001
The Daily Deal
Copyright (c) 2001 The Deal LLC

India's finance minister says the country is open for business, but delayed 
deals and investor wariness tell a different story. 
Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha promised earlier this year he would 
"walk the talk" on liberalizing the country's famously protectionist foreign 
direct investment regime.
Five months on, he's clearly proud of his accomplishments. Too proud. "The 
reform measures the government has put in place have paid significant 
attention to foreign direct investment," Sinha said in an interview. "An 
investor-friendly policy regime has been put in place with foreign investment 
being permitted in almost all sectors under the automatic route." 
Sinha initially won applause from foreign investors for introducing a program 
that included key privatization initiatives and select sector foreign direct 
investment liberalization. But the minister has stumbled recently on four key 
deals. 
The main privatization targets for this year -- state flag carrier Air-India 
Ltd., car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd. and local telecom giant Videsh Sanchar 
Nigam Ltd. -- all remain unsold. 
And Enron Corp.'s long-troubled effort to make a profit from its $3 billion 
investment in a 65%-owned power plant in the state of Maharashtra -- the 
largest foreign investment in India -- has hit a brick wall. The Houston 
power company moved in May to abandon its decade-long effort after repeated 
run-ins with the state government over unpaid bills. 
For corporate dealmakers, India continues to tempt and disappoint. With a 
population of 1 billion and an emerging middle class, the prospect of a 
reforming, open Indian economy fascinates foreign companies in the way China 
did in the 1990s. 
The only problem is the government's inability to implement its rhetoric on 
reform. Sinha described the reform process as "irreversible." However, he 
said the country was following a "calibrated" approach to "allow the economy 
enough time to absorb the impact of restructuring." But calibrated to what? 
No foreign groups, for example, were among the bidders expressing interest in 
the 25% stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam the national government is selling. 
India's tangled telecom regulations made a bid far too problematic. 
New Delhi's effort to sell 40% of Air-India is also freighted with red tape. 
First off, the government is offering only 26% to a foreign carrier. This led 
Delta Air Lines Inc. of the U.S. and Air France, which were planning a joint 
bid, to drop out of the race. 
That cleared the path for a bid by Singapore Airlines Inc. in partnership 
with the local Tata group, the original owners of the nationalized air 
carrier. But what is a minority stake in perpetually money-losing Air-India 
worth? SIA and Tata could well balk if New Delhi asks too much. 
Then there is the government's 50% stake in Maruti Udyog. Joint venture 
partner Suzuki Motor Corp. has the first right of refusal on the government's 
choice of buyer. The Japanese carmaker prefers that General Motors Corp., 
which holds a 20% stake in the local carmaker, buy out the government. But 
the government has said no. 
With New Delhi and Suzuki barely on speaking terms, the sale could be a long 
way off. This would make the issue "forever and after the epitome of lost 
privatization opportunities," says Udayan Bose, chairman and CEO of Lazard 
India. 
Sinha's response? "The government appointed a committee on March 26 to 
negotiate with Suzuki. The committee has commenced formal negotiations with 
Suzuki." 
To be fair, Sinha has one piece of reform of which to be proud. Passage of 
legislation liberalizing the insurance sector last year was his major triumph 
and a landmark for global insurance giants. 
Standard Life Assurance Co. and Prudential Corp. plc of Britain, as well as 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and American International Group Inc. of the 
U.S., are among the foreign players already hooked up with Indian partners. 
Sinha says the reforms will triple the size of the local insurance market 
within three years. 
Sinha predicts other victories soon. 
"We have already taken the decision to privatize 27 public sector companies," 
he said. "In most of these cases, the process is on. We have streamlined 
procedures, and it is our duty to convince the people of this country and 
Parliament that the process is transparent." 
Still, the privatizations of Air-India, Maruti Udyog and VSNL mean the 
government's $2.3 billion sales target for this year is clearly in trouble. 
And recent overall FDI figures are not encouraging, either. According to the 
Reserve Bank of India, approval was granted for FDI of $55.1 billion between 
1991 and 1998, but only $12 billion was actually invested. 
India's infamous bureaucracy turned many potential investors away. But also 
of concern is the economy. GDP growth, which many regard as inflated by 
statistical quirks anyway, has declined from 6.6% in the fiscal year ending 
March 2000 to an estimated 6% in fiscal 2001. Industrial growth fell from 
8.2% to 6%. 
Pressed about a lackluster macroeconomic picture Sinha pointed instead to the 
nation's undoubted strengths. "India offers a vast reservoir of well-skilled 
technical manpower, an abundance of natural resources and a well-developed 
communication network," he boasted. "The country has liberalized in 
practically all sectors and has developed a substantial degree of openness." 
More's the pity, then, that the country has a demonstrated ability to shoot 
itself in the foot whenever economic reform looks promising. 
Lachlan Colquhoun is a Daily Deal correspondent based in Syndey. 
http://www.thedeal.com

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


GM, Other U.S. Companies Blast Bush Move to Shield Steelmakers
2001-06-07 00:01 (New York)


     Washington, June 7 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. is
concerned that an investigation President George W. Bush ordered
of foreign steel in the U.S. may lead to import curbs, pushing up
prices for the cars and trucks it sells consumers.
     Stripmatic Products Inc., a Cleveland company with 30
employees that supplies brake components to GM and other
automakers, has a deeper worry: If it's forced to buy more
expensive U.S. steel, it may lose all its customers.
     ``If they put on import tariffs, I will lose my business to
overseas manufacturers,'' said Stripmatic President Bill Adler,
whose 55-year-old company imports low-grade stainless steel
exclusively from a French manufacturer.
     GM, the world's largest automaker, and Stripmatic were among
the U.S. steel-consuming companies that blasted Bush's Tuesday
order, warning it may cost money and jobs in the $37 billion U.S.
steel industry.
     ``Imported steel has the effect of keeping a dampener on
prices,'' said Bill Noak, a General Motors spokesman.
     Bush told the International Trade Commission, a U.S. agency,
to look into whether steel imports were harming domestic
producers, a step that may clear the way for remedies such as
tariffs, import curbs or an outright ban on the foreign products.
     The president responded to pressure from U.S. steelmakers
such as LTV Corp., Bethlehem Steel Corp. and Weirton Steel Corp.,
which have been lobbying for import protection since 1998, when a
flood of foreign metal sent steel prices and profits plunging.
     Since 1998, 18 U.S. steel companies, including LTV, the
country's second largest, filed for bankruptcy.

                      Pushing for Protection

     The U.S. industry has lost 80 percent of its jobs in the last
two decades, and steelmakers and steelworkers mostly blame
imports, which now take up about 27 percent of the U.S. market,
the world's largest.
     They charge that unfair trade practices, including government
subsidies that allow companies from South Korea to Brazil to sell
steel in the U.S. below the cost of production, have made it
impossible to compete on price.
     A metric ton of structural steel used in high-rise buildings
cost about $615 in the U.S. at the end of last year -- and $275 in
Russia, according to the International Cost Engineering Council, a
nonprofit group.
     Bush backed that contention when he said the U.S. industry
has been ``affected by a 50-year legacy of foreign government
intervention in the market.''
     ``All we've ever asked for is a fair and level playing
field,'' said Daniel Dimicco, president of Charlotte-based Nucor
Corp., a ``mini-mill'' that makes steel by melting scrap and was
the most profitable domestic steelmaker last year. ``That is the
message the president is sending, and we support it.''

                       8 Million Workers

     Officials from companies that consume steel in the U.S.
contend that such protection would cost the U.S. far more than the
steel industry would gain.
     About 8 million Americans are employed by steel-consuming
industries -- including auto and appliance makers, construction
companies and energy companies, according to the Consuming
Industries Trade Action Coalition, a group of steel consumers
including Caterpillar Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Enron Corp.
     Steel producers employ about 160,000 people, down from
800,000 20 years ago.
     An April study by the coalition examined the effect of steel
import quotas and tariffs and found that manufacturers using steel
would be forced to cut jobs because of higher costs. That would
result in an overall loss of between 19,000 and 32,000 jobs, while
protecting only about 3,700 steelworker jobs.
     Michael Fanning, a spokesman for Michelin North America, the
number two U.S. tire maker that also manufactures the B.F.
Goodrich and Uniroyal brands, said any move by the U.S. to add
tariffs or restrict imports ``will hurt the downstream users.''

                      No Domestic Suppliers

     ``We import a lot of high-quality steel from outside the
United States from companies in Germany, France, Japan, simply
because we can't get it in this country,'' Fanning said. ``We find
it disheartening that we would be penalized simply because we
can't get any domestic supplier.''
     The American Institute for International Steel, an
association of U.S. and foreign companies that support free trade,
said American steel companies themselves would be damaged by
import restrictions because they are among the largest importers
of foreign products.
     Domestic steelmakers imported almost a third of the 37.8
million tons of foreign steel brought into the U.S. last year, the
institute said. Most was in the form of ``slab'' -- raw steel --
or semi-finished products that were finished by U.S. companies.
     Bill Jens, owner of Ataco Steel Products Corp. of Cedarburg,
Wisconsin, whose 100-employee company annually sells $13 million
in lawn and garden implements, among other products, said Bush's
move is aimed at ``protecting companies that are really something
of a dinosaur.''
     ``They haven't been keeping up technologically with what's
been going on in the world, and all of a sudden we're going to be
forced to buy their steel at a higher price because they can't
keep up?'' he said. ``I don't think that's right.''



Pacific Hydro Bends With the Wind, Flows With Water (Update5)
2001-06-07 02:18 (New York)

Pacific Hydro Bends With the Wind, Flows With Water (Update5)

     (Closes stock price.)

     Melbourne, June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Pacific Hydro Ltd., the best-
performing stock in Australia's key index in the year to date,
hopes the westerly gales that buffet the southern coast will lift
its shares even higher.
     The Melbourne-based company plans to turn squalls into
electricity by building 114 windmills on the Victoria coastline.
It says the nation's biggest wind farm would provide enough power
for 200,000 households.
     After tumbling this week, Pacific Hydro shares rose 8.8
percent today, its biggest daily gain in almost six months. That
brings its increase in the past six months to 96 percent,
outpacing rivals on the S&P ASX 200 Index, and some investors say
it could keep rising.
     ``In a climate of higher energy prices, we like renewable
energy and this company is doing it very well,'' said Ian Huntley,
who holds Pacific Hydro shares among the A$44 million ($23
million) he manages at Huntley Investment Co. ``Looking at its
growth in revenue and earnings, it does very well whatever
business it's in.''
     Granted, Pacific Hydro isn't cheap. Even after this week's 15
percent slump, it trades at 72 times earnings -- almost twice the
average ratio on an index of local utility stocks. Earnings from
power stations in the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand may
not justify that high a valuation.
     ``They're probably the foremost experts in wind energy in
Australia -- management is very good,'' said Andrew King, whose
A$350 million of stocks at Investors Mutual Ltd. don't include
Pacific Hydro. Still, ``it's just a bit too high on valuation at
the moment,'' he said.

                         California

     Yet comparable companies elsewhere are even more expensive on
a price-earnings basis. Denmark's Vestas Wind Systems A/S, for
example, trades at almost 80 times earnings. Its shares more than
tripled last year.
     Managing Director Jeff Harding's ambition could see his
company build as many as 1,000 windmills, rivaling the largest
windmill owners like U.S.-based FPL Group Inc., Enron Corp., and
Iberdrola SA, Spain's second-largest utility.
     Besides its expansion plans, the company can also take
advantage of a new Australian law that raises the amount of
electricity the nation gets from renewable resources to 12 percent
from 10 percent. A wind farm takes only nine months to build
compared with a hydroelectric power station, which can take as
long as seven years.
     Commodity prices have cooperated in pushing up prices of so-
called green stocks like Pacific Hydro. The price of natural gas
more than quadrupled in the past year. Oil doubled since 1999. The
price of coal, used to produce 80 percent of Australia's
electricity, rose more than 50 percent in 12 months.
     In California, meantime, power shortages have crippled the
wealthiest U.S. state, boosting demand for alternative energy
sources like wind and water.
     ``People have seen what's happened to the energy sector in
the States,'' said Stuart Smith, an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co.
``Even though (Pacific Hydro stock) has pulled back a lot, it's
still been a performer.''

                               Nepal

     Australians are hungry for energy. They are the fifth-biggest
consumers of electricity, lagging Norway and the U.S.
     Pacific Hydro's earnings may triple this year to A$18.5
million, helped by the start of its Bakun hydroelectric station on
the northwest Philippines island of Luzon, which almost doubled
the company's electricity generation.
     It plans to build another hydro station on the southern
Mindanao Island with joint venture partner Aboitiz Equity Ventures
Inc. Though a new Philippine law to allow more competition in the
electricity industry will drive down power prices, Pacific Hydro's
Harding said most of its output will be sold under long-term
contracts.
     Its next target country may offer even greater challenges. As
Nepal struggles to launch an inquiry into the massacre of its
royal family, Harding is awaiting the kingdom's decision on
whether to accept a bid to build two hydroelectric dams.
     ``Only one in 14 Nepalese has access to electricity, so there
is quite a demand for power within Nepal and northern India,''
Harding said. Because of rivers that run from the Himalayas, the
world's tallest mountain peaks, ``Nepal has the best hydro
resources in the world.''
     Pacific Hydro, which has risen 67 percent in the year to
date, rose 35 cents, or 8.8 percent, to A$4.32.



Metro
Council status quo for blacks Hispanic growth likely to affect white wards
Gary Washburn, Tribune staff reporter

06/07/2001
Chicago Tribune
North Sports Final ; N
1
(Copyright 2001 by the Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved a blueprint for drawing new 
ward boundaries that calls for maintaining the current level of 
African-American representation in the council. 
In practical terms, passage of the measure means that growth in the number of 
Hispanic wards--something that is a foregone conclusion given new census 
numbers that show explosive Latino population increases--is likely to come 
out of the current total of white wards.
There now are 23 wards with majorities of white voters, 20 with 
African-American majorities and seven Hispanic. 
Because of a slight population decline among African-Americans and, more 
importantly, a dispersion of population from historically black South Side 
neighborhoods to other areas of the city, African- American aldermen feared 
losing a seat. 
But the ordinance passed Wednesday calls for a remap that "avoids 
retrogression in the voting strength" of minorities protected by the federal 
Voting Rights Act, a provision aimed directly at maintaining African-American 
strength in the council. 
"We are not going to get into a fight with Hispanics [and] we are not going 
to give up any wards in this world or the world to come," declared Ald. Ed 
Smith (28th), who represents a predominantly black ward on the West Side. 
Despite the apparent victory for the council's black caucus, Ald. Dorothy 
Tillman (3rd), one of its members, voted against the plan. She complained 
that she is being denied an attorney to represent her as the remap process 
begins to pick up steam. 
Though the black caucus recently chose attorney Burton Odelson to represent 
its interests, Tillman said she now has misgivings about the selection, 
saying that Odelson is a conservative who has represented Republicans in the 
past. 
Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), chairman of the council's Rules Committee, rejected 
Tillman's request to hire James Montgomery, a former city corporation 
counsel. 
Individual aldermen do not have the right to have representation funded by 
the city, Mell asserted. 
He suggested Tillman's concern has more to do with changes in her ward, which 
has lost more than 17,000 residents and faces a potentially radical boundary 
change, than with Odelson's politics. 
Ald. Joe Moore (49th) and Ald. Michael Wojcik (30th) also voted against the 
remap blueprint, objecting to a parliamentary maneuver used by the majority 
to force consideration of the measure on Wednesday. 
Wojcik's ward is one of those expected to be majority Hispanic in the new 
map. 
But the opponents were snowed under by a 44-3 vote. 
Among other provisions, the blueprint also spells out the number of public 
hearings to be held before a new map is drawn, mandates creation of an 
Internet site where citizens can get information on the redistricting process 
and requires a "redistricting impact statement" explaining how the new map 
that will be drawn complies with the Voting Rights Act and state and federal 
constitutions. 
In other action, Mayor Richard Daley introduced a proposal calling for the 
purchase of 60 percent of the electricity used in city buildings and other 
municipal facilities from Houston-based Enron Corp. 
Under a deal negotiated with the energy-provider, the city would reduce its 
$50 million-a-year electric bill by about $3 million, officials said. 
Commonwealth Edison Co., now the city's sole provider, would supply the 
remainder of the city's electricity needs if the agreement is approved by the 
City Council. 
Officials in California have accused Enron and other energy providers of 
limiting supplies to drive up prices there. 
"We are more than well aware of the implications of California and the fact 
that that Enron is involved in that market," said city Environment 
Commissioner William Abolt. "We think that generally nobody is going to come 
out of that with clean hands, from government to regulators to companies that 
are supplying energy." 
Enron has stood by its contracts with its customers to provide power at 
agreed-upon rates, he said. 
Under the proposed eight-year deal, the city's price would be locked in at a 
guaranteed level initially and later would be tied to an independent 
financial index. 
Also on Wednesday, the City Council voted unanimously to prohibit racial 
profiling by Chicago police and other law enforcement officers. Officials 
believe Chicago is the first big city in the nation to approve such a measure.


PHOTO; Caption: PHOTO: Ald. Dorothy Tillman (3rd) says Wednesday she is being 
denied a lawyer to represent her as the city redraws ward boundaries. Tribune 
photo by Phil Greer. 

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


Enron Plans to Challenge Power Regulator's Order, Paper Says
2001-06-06 23:24 (New York)


     Mumbai, June 7 (Bloomberg) -- The Indian unit of Enron Corp.
plans to challenge an order from the Maharashtra state power
regulator that prevents the company from seeking international
arbitration, the Business Standard said, without citing people.
     The regulator barred Dabhol Power Co., the Indian unit of
Enron, from seeking arbitration about its payment dispute with the
Maharashtra State Electricity Board until June 14, the paper said.
     Dabhol has decided to challenge the order in court on the
grounds that it is beyond the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory
Commission's rights to bar the company from resorting to
arbitration, the paper said.
     Dabhol and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, its only
customer, are in a dispute over power tariffs. The board stopped
buying power from Dabhol after the U.S. energy company took steps
to end a $3 billion power venture.



Commentary
Since when does rape equal justice?
Steve Chapman Steve Chapman is a member of the Tribune's editorial board

06/07/2001
Chicago Tribune
North Sports Final ; N
29
(Copyright 2001 by the Chicago Tribune)

The attorney general of California is very unhappy about the state's energy 
crisis, and he has come up with the perfect solution. It involves a creative 
type of punishment for Kenneth Lay, chairman of the Houston-based energy 
company Enron. Though Lay has not been convicted of any crime, Bill Lockyer 
says, "I would love to personally escort Lay to an 8-by-10 cell that he could 
share with a tattooed dude who says, `Hi, my name is Spike, honey.' " 
Let the record show that the chief law enforcement officer for the nation's 
biggest state regards prison rape as a valuable feature of his correctional 
system. Soft-hearted souls may lament the sexual victimization of jail and 
prison inmates by violent sociopaths, but Lockyer's chief concern is that 
there are some people who have yet to experience this form of justice.
It used to be that prison was feared because it meant a prolonged loss of 
freedom, hard labor, separation from family and, sometimes, violence by 
guards. But somewhere along the line, Americans got used to the idea that it 
also involves sadistic sexual abuse with no one doing anything to stop it. 
Why are we so nonchalant? We might be outraged that anti-social thugs are 
getting away with horrific new crimes every day, under the very noses of law 
enforcement. Instead, many people--Lockyer among them--have embraced the 
proposition that the victims are getting only what they deserve. 
One of the reasons this phenomenon gets little attention is that it's largely 
invisible. Even critics can only make educated guesses about the scope of the 
problem. But it's clearly large. A survey of seven men's prisons in four 
states, published last year in Prison Journal, found that 21 percent of 
inmates had been coerced or forced into sexual contact, with 7 percent 
reporting they had been raped. 
When Human Rights Watch did a confidential poll of prison guards in an 
unnamed southern state, they estimated that one in five inmates were victims 
of such abuse. Inmates said it was more like one in three. 
Suppose we take a conservative estimate and say that one of every 10 inmates 
suffers this misfortune. With more than 1.8 million men behind bars at any 
given time, that means at least 180,000 inmates are forcibly violated every 
year. And that's not counting what goes on in juvenile facilities. For 
comparison's sake, in the entire United States, there were 124,730 reported 
rapes of females in 1999. 
How can sexual abuse possibly be regarded as an appropriate part of serving 
time? Some of the victims are vicious thugs themselves. But many people in 
prisons and jails were arrested for nonviolent offenses. 
Many of us, if a close relative were found guilty of one of these crimes, 
would think he should pay for his offense by losing his freedom for a long 
while. But few of us would agree he deserves to be beaten, stabbed, sodomized 
and infected with AIDS, which is what prison often means. If a judge were to 
give a convict a sentence like that, it would be ruled cruel and unusual 
punishment. 
Lockyer might not have the stomach to actually watch one of the encounters 
that he finds so amusing. One inmate interviewed by Human Rights Watch had 
complained to guards after being raped. His assailant then beat him with a 
combination lock--breaking his neck, jaw, collarbone and finger, dislocating 
his shoulder, and giving him two serious concussions--before raping him 
again. Afterward, the victim could read the word "Master," the brand of the 
lock, on his forehead. Many inmates submit rather than risk being stomped to 
a pulp. 
Atrocities like this happen all the time, mainly because hardly anyone minds. 
Authorities have no great incentive to take the problem seriously because 
they generally can't be held liable for attacks. In overcrowded, understaffed 
facilities, prevention may be impossible. Prosecutors, meanwhile, see no need 
to seek punishment. 
Treating prison rape like the crime it is would deter some attacks. Prisons 
could also act swiftly to segregate the perpetrators from the rest of the 
inmate population. The surest remedy is also the most expensive: Put all 
prisoners in one-man cells, so they don't have to sleep with one eye open. 
Or maybe we should just require all government officials with responsibility 
for prisons and jails to spend a couple of nights a year in one of their own 
facilities. Since you're already acquainted, Mr. Lockyer, you'll be rooming 
with Spike. 
---------- 
E-mail: schapman@tribune.com

GRAPHIC; Caption: GRAPHIC: Illustration by Dean Rohrer. 

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


PPA in force, claims DPC
S Ravindran Mumbai

06/07/2001
Business Standard
3
Copyright (c) Business Standard

The Dabhol Power Company could continue billing the Maharashtra State 
Eelctricity Board from its second phase, which was due to start operations on 
June 7. 
Sources close to DPC told Business Standard: "If MSEB had cooperated with 
DPC, commercial production could have begun tomorrow. Under the PPA, they 
would have been forced to buy this power."
"While MSEB contends that it has rescinded the PPA, DPC claims that it 
continues to be in force. Under these circumstances, DPC will definitely 
charge MSEB for the second phase power at some future date," sources added. 
MSEB has stopped buying power from DPC. Meanwhile, lenders to DPC are yet to 
arrive at a decision on the issue of the transfer notice being served to the 
MSEB. "The lenders are yet to get back to DPC with their views on the 
subject," sources said. This was one of the DPC executives' suggestions to 
the lenders. The mothballing of the 1,444 mw second phase of the project was 
also discussed. DPC executives also spelt out the differences between the 
company and the Godbole panel to a consortium of Indian and foreign lenders. 
"DPC representatives pointed out that there was a chasm between the Godbole 
panel members and the company. The bone of contention is the plant load 
factor (PLF) at which DPC will sell power to MSEB. DPC is keen on a PLF of 90 
per cent which will bring down the tariff. The Godbole panel wants a much 
lower offtake of power by MSEB," sources close to DPC told Business Standard 
from Singapore. 
The meeting was attended by Enron India managing director K Wade Cline, DPC 
president and CEO Neil McGregor and representatives of Indian FIs and banks 
like IDBI, ICICI, SBI. DPC executives will hold another round of talks with 
the lenders tomorrow.

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



Calif Eyes Ending Access To Alternative Power Suppliers
By Jason Leopold
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

06/06/2001
Dow Jones Energy Service
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

LOS ANGELES -(Dow Jones)- California utility regulators appear ready to vote 
next week on a proposal to suspend the ability of large electricity users to 
sign contracts directly with energy suppliers. 
The move is called for in the February bill that put the state in the power 
business, but its approval by the California Public Utilities Commission 
would damp plans in the Legislature to reduce the burden on Edison 
International (EIX) unit Southern California Edison by making large 
industrial customers responsible for securing their own power.
"We're still trying to figure that out," said an aide to Assembly Speaker Pro 
Tem Fred Keeley, D-Boulder Creek. "We don't know how to get around that right 
now." 
Keeley is expected to introduce legislation to shift the burden of rescuing 
Southern California Edison to large businesses. Under the proposal, which is 
also supported by Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, customers that use 500 
kilowatt-hours of power a month or more would pay a surcharge on their bills 
to help Southern California Edison recoup its losses on wholesale power. 
The so-called direct-access component - under those large users would buy 
their power from suppliers - is the cornerstone of the Keeley plan, for which 
Enron has been lobbying hard in recent weeks, according to several aides to 
key legislators. 
The Keeley plan is an alternative to the memorandum of understanding Gov. 
Gray Davis signed with Southern California Edison two months ago. Under that 
proposal, the state would buy Southern California Edison's power lines for 
$2.76 billion and allow the utility to issue $2 billion in bonds backed by 
ratepayers to recover $3.5 billion in net uncollected power costs. 
That plan has run into snags in the Legislature, which must enact it into 
law, and the PUC, which has been slow to rule on enabling measures. 
One key Democratic Senator said the PUC's move to quash direct access is an 
attempt to ensure a deal to rescue Southern California Edison doesn't pass 
through the Legislature. 
"The PUC has demonstrated it does not want SoCal Ed to remain solvent," the 
senator said. "They have dragged their feet on several key issues they need 
to address in order to make sure legislation to save the utility is never 
heard." 
A PUC spokesman didn't return calls for comment. 
Direct-access was the key part of the state's 1996 deregulation law, giving 
retail customers the opportunity to choose from a variety of energy suppliers 
in an effort to lower their electric rates. 
Commissioners Richard Bilas and Henry Duque said they support direct access 
and would vote against any measure to reverse it. 
"I would never vote against direct access," said Bilas, a Republican, who 
authored the agenda item. Bilas said the item was amended by another 
commissioner. 
The measure could be held, because it might disrupt negotiations between the 
Legislature and Southern California Edison, said PUC Commissioner Geoffrey 
Brown, a Democrat. 
The PUC may be looking to protect the state's interest as a power purchaser, 
some legislative aides said. 
The DWR's long-term power supply contracts cover the state's wholesale-market 
power needs in 2002 and 2003. If large industrial customers were to sign 
direct-access contracts, the DWR would lose them as customers and thus fail 
to collect enough revenue to pay off the long-term contracts. 
The agency could be stuck with a large surplus of electricity that it would 
be forced to sell it on the open market at a loss. The market price of power 
in the coming years is expected to be lower than what the state paid for 
forward power in 2001. 
Wholesale power prices plunged this week, and the DWR for the first time sold 
excess power on the open market, according to Oscar Hidalgo, DWR spokesman. 
Arnold Rosenthal, of Newport Beach-based Utility Resource Management Group, 
an organization that represents more than 700 large electricity users in the 
state, said state regulators are "looking to get us back into a mode where we 
are held captive once again." 
"The DWR is acting as this super utility," Rosenthal said. "What you're left 
with is absolutely no choice. Instead, we'll be subjected to several large 
rate increases." 
Rosenthal said some of his San Diego clients have direct access deals. A 
number of clients served by Southern California Edison want to sign 
direct-access contracts to escape recent rate increases imposed by the PUC. 
-By Jason Leopold, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3874; 
jason.leopold@dowjones.com

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