Robert,
 
We have been the target of a number of web based articles on a site hosted by E-Rex, an electricity market broker.  E-Rex is owned by Mitsui and a couple of banks.  The website is located at www.erex.co.jp <http://www.erex.co.jp> with links to energy news.net.  The articles are in Japanese and we have translated these below.  We are not the only target, but certainly one of the main company targets.  We have not spoken with ERex or any of its owners.  It is generally believed that there are a number of different writers (Mr. Z), but maintain their anonymity.
 
It seems to us as though there are clearly some inside sources that are being used.  Could be EPower (or Enron Japan)?
 
Any thoughts?
 
Joe

News Behind the Scenes (14): September 28<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 


E Power Practically Dissolved: What was the Cause of Its Downfall?


Mr.Z - A man behind the scenes

 E Power, a power generation company, which is jointly funded by Enron, a U.S. energy giant, and Orix, was dissolved for all intents and purposes on the 17th of this month.  On this day, 40 people, including Mr. Carey Sloan (chairman) and Mr. Tatsuro Seguchi (president) left E Power, and Mr. J O'Day (sic), who used to be the vice president of Enron Japan, assumed the office of president and CEO of E Power.  At the same time, E Power's office was moved from a building in Shinjyuku, Tokyo to within Enron Japan's office located in the First Square Building in Otemachi, Tokyo.  Rumors are starting to spread amongst people in the industry that the two companies will merge together in the near future.

 According to a source in a trading company, the recent mass departure from E Power took place, because Enron Corp, which was irritated by E Power's poor business results, fired everyone who were related to the company's generation department.  Moreover, all of the company's power plant siting projects, except for a project in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture, will apparently be brought back to square one.  It is looking likely that the company's large-scale gas-fired power plant project in Rokkashomura, Aomori Prefecture, which drew the attention of the energy industry, will be killed off even before a piece of land was obtained for the project.

 The greatest cause of the company's downfall was that it was unable to show any clear business strategy.  At the time of foundation, the company was intending to conduct mainly trading and intermediation of electricity.  However, the company changed its objective to siting its own power plants because it realized that securing of surplus electricity was difficult.  Furthermore, because acquisition of land had not been going well for the company, the company, until recently, had been considering energy-saving service (ESCO) as a stopgap measure until a power plant could be constructed.

 So far, the company has not been able to conduct any business that produced a cash flow.  In other words, the company has been operating with a loss ever since its establishment.  It is hardly possible for Enron, which is avaricious when it comes to pursuing cost-effectiveness, to leave this situation as it is.  One could say that E Power has done well to have held out this long.

 Another cause -a hidden cause - of E Power's downfall was surely the fact that the company held up high a flag that showed the five-letter word "Enron".  A few years ago, a person related to a certain IPP turned down an offer from E Power to purchase its surplus energy saying that "although he wouldn't mind selling power to E Power, he had not intention of selling any power to Enron".

It may have been a mistake for E Power, which was established mainly around electricity business specialists from trading companies, such as Marubeni, to have joined hands with Enron, which is particularly good at using business methods that would not be accepted in Japan.

                                                                                                                                            News Behind the Scenes  

                                                                                                                                      Another Article (Title not available)

Before I was able to overcome the astonishment that I felt regarding the terrorist attacks in the United States, a major massacre took place on the following Monday on the 17th at EPower, an affiliated company of a major energy trading company in the United States, Enron Corp.  I had thought that a major restructuring would take place soon or later, but the extent of which made me realize just how dry an American company could be.

 It has been almost two years since EPower was established, and for some employees, including executives, the term of contract was about to end.  In that sense, it is not surprising that things happened.  In any case, all EPower employees - numbering close to 50 - were called into the office by e-mail on the 17th, and 35 people were told there and then that they were fired.  Quite amazing.

 EPower's office was moved immediately to where Enron Japan's office is located in the First Square Building in Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, from Shinjyuku Center Building in Nishi-Shinjyuku, Shinjyuky-ku, Tokyo.   The efficient way in which everything was executed was like a well-planned coup d'etat.  You could say that an Enron cruise missile has made a direct hit on EPower.

 As I described above, EPower was established two years ago under the auspices of Enron Corp as the standard-bearer of electricity liberalization.  At one stage, the company sent shockwaves through the electricity industry being compared to the black ships that came to Japan at the end of Tokugawa shogunate regime.  However, despite the company's promising start, the company seems to be heading towards an anticlimax.  It is of most people's opinion that the company's capital subscriber, Enron Corp, will abandon the company in the end, dissolving the company as soon as the remaining businesses are cleared up.  

 Among the 35 people fired from EPower, I hear that there is someone who joined the company in April this year.  There certainly was a problem with EPower's management increasing the number of staff without making much of a business progress.  However, I question highly the way in which Enron carried out dismissal en masse.  

Enron probably would argue its case by saying that people have no right to complain because the company had observed applicable laws and contracts.  However, laws and contracts are only minimal obligations.  It seems that the company has no recognition of the fact that a higher-level consideration is necessary for people with different cultures to work together.

Not unlike the US Government which does not recognize that one of the major reasons for the recent terrorist attacks on the United States was due to the shortcomings in its Middle East - Islam policy, Enron too does not understand the key elements in doing business in Japan.  

 

News Behind the Scenes: September 12

A Black Ship Named "Enron" Runs Aground in Japanese Waters

Mr.Z - A man behind the scenes

 Enron may pull out of the Japanese market in the near future - this is the opinion that is beginning to spread amongst people related to the energy industry in Japan.  The reason for this is that both "EPower", an electricity retailing company jointly funded by Enron and Orix Corp., and "Enron Japan", a fully-owned energy trading company of Enron, are being forced to fight a desperate battle in the Japanese market.  

 In particular, the way EPower is running about in confusion stands out quite conspicuously.  The company, when founded in 1999, looked to conduct electricity intermediation business, but has been having a hard time trying to launch the business because of significant barriers in the liberalized electricity market.  In spite of the fact that the company has changed its strategy to building its own power plants in various places, such as Omuta in Fukuoka, Ube in Yamaguchi, Rokkashomura in Aomori, etc., the company is still having a difficult time trying to obtain the necessary sites.

 Within such an environment, the company's CEO, Mr. Bruce Wrobel, left EPower in February this year because his plans for the company differed from that of Enron Corp's.  Then in August, Mr. Hiroo Awano, who has been quite active in visible scenes, such as dealing with the media as a deputy representative and the spokesman for the company, was suddenly fired.  It seems that he was made responsible for the company's poor performances.

 There is also information floating around that "EPower has been examining the possibility of conducting energy-saving service business in cooperation with large electrical appliance manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, general construction companies, etc., until its electricity retailing business gets going."  It is unclear whether this is a present progressive development or not.  However, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the company's impatience as it strives to "achieve whatever result possible".

 Meanwhile, there is a rumor that Enron Japan will carry out a major corporate restructuring.  Amalgamation with EPower could also be a possibility.

 The U.S. Government and USTR are making multitude of demands to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry through U.S.-Japan Deregulation Conference so that they could somehow make Enron's advances into the Japanese market a success.  However, it seems that Enron's solidarity with politics is producing a result opposite to what was intended.  Could a black ship named "Enron," which has run aground in the Japanese waters, go to the bottom after all before too long?