As Final Exams Begin, Power Is a Big Question
The New York Times, 05/13/01

British Telecom
The Times of London, 05/12/01

Houston needs to think small about future technology
Houston Chronicle, 05/13/01

Panel plots new course for area's future / Education, economics, quality of 
life top group's list of needed improvements
Houston Chronicle, 05/13/01

MSEB not to pick up 15 pc in DPC after phase II completion
Press Trust of India Limited, 05/13/01

Enron plans to pull out of Gulf gas project: MEED
Agence France-Presse, 05/13/01

SMALL BUSINESS / Pleasure cruisin' / Yacht fleet owner offers customers what 
amounts to limo service on the lake
Houston Chronicle, 05/13/01

More power to reform agenda
The Economic Times, 05/13/01

India Power Min: New Power Deal With Enron Unit Possible
Dow Jones International News, 05/12/01

India: Talks begin on Dabhol issue
Business Line (The Hindu), 05/12/01

India to allow 3rd party sale if DPC, MSEB jointly approach
Press Trust of India Limited, 05/12/01

DEFAZIO CALLS FOR STATE TO BUY PGE TO PROTECT RATES
Portland Oregonian, 05/12/01

Congressman suggests state buy PGE
Associated Press Newswires, 05/11/01



National Desk; Section 1
As Final Exams Begin, Power Is a Big Question
By JODI WILGOREN

05/13/2001
The New York Times
Page 16, Column 4
c. 2001 New York Times Company

For final exams, prepared students pack extra pens, calculators, bottled 
water, granola bars. And, at the University of California's Berkeley campus 
this year, a flashlight. 
As state officials and utilities struggle to maintain the power supply during 
California's continuing energy shortage, administrators and professors at the 
31,000-student campus are planning for the possibility that rolling blackouts 
may disrupt exams, which began on Friday and run through next Saturday.
''People here are used to interruptions,'' Sara Abbas, 21, a senior 
communications major, said with a shrug as she studied in a cafe near campus. 
''People walking in, people running around buck naked and whatnot. People 
have cut the power lines. They just reschedule.'' 
In an e-mail message sent Wednesday, the executive vice chancellor, Paul R. 
Gray, advised instructors to use ''individual discretion to decide the 
disposition of their examinations once the exam has started.'' Among the 
options: delay the test until the lights return; postpone it until a 
Saturday; grade the incomplete test; or cancel the exam altogether. 
Professors are also encouraged to check a Web site to see if their exam rooms 
have windows. ''In some classrooms,'' Mr. Gray noted, ''students may have 
sufficient natural light.'' 
The rolling blackouts could hit most of the campuses of the University of 
California and California State University. The two systems are embroiled in 
a legal dispute with Enron Energy Services, a Houston-based company that, in 
February, cut short a four-year contract to provide electricity directly to 
the universities. For now, the two systems -- among the largest energy 
consumers in the state -- are being supplied by Pacific Gas and Electric and 
Southern California Edison. 
Though several medical centers and the Davis, Los Angeles and Riverside 
campuses of the University of California system are exempt from the 
blackouts, the rest of the campuses have been put on alert. 
At Berkeley, the warning from Mr. Gray only heightened pre-exam stress 
levels. 
''Stopping in the middle of a final would be detrimental to my grade because 
I save the hardest questions until the end,'' said Heidi West, 20, a 
sophomore majoring in political science. 
Aaron Chung, a senior studying cognitive science, said it would be unfair to 
grade half-finished exams because he often circled answers instinctively, 
planning to return later with more care. ''The only thing I don't have a 
problem with is if the professors give everyone A's,'' Mr. Chung, 23, said. 
''You have to be under a lot of duress for that to happen.'' 
Gary L. Firestone, a biology professor, said he would move his 500-member 
class out into the sunshine and tell students to spread their blue books on 
the grass. But Jeff Good, a graduate student who teaches Introduction to 
Syntax and Semantics, said he would probably cancel the exam because the 
final counts for only 20 percent of the grade. 
That is what Michelle Chen, a junior linguistics major in Mr. Good's class, 
is hoping for. 
''I would love a blackout,'' Ms. Chen said. ''I'm going to turn on my 
air-conditioner. My toaster, too.''

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


Business
British Telecom
Patience Wheatcroft

05/12/2001
The Times of London
News International
Final 4
55
(Copyright Times Newspapers Ltd, 2001)

BRITISH TELECOM has inflicted enough damage on itself in the past year. But 
others are still lining up to put the boot in. Hours after the company 
announced a Pounds 5.9 billion rights issue and the separation of cash-hungry 
BT Wireless, Moody's Investors Service lowered BT's credit rating. This 
thumbs-down will cost BT an extra Pounds 35 million a year on existing loans 
as well as making future working capital more expensive. 
The timing is odd. One of the two other main agencies presented with the same 
BT proposals maintained its rating and the other edged it down so little that 
change-of-rating clauses were not triggered. In the meantime, the market 
prices of BT debt have been rising. The Enron Cost of Credit, which measures 
the overall risk premium on BT borrowing, has halved since mid February. Such 
costly inconsistencies must focus more critical attention on the agencies, 
whose power has grown out of proportion to their accountability.
Moody's verdict is, however, peanuts compared with the cost to BT of the 
whims of Stephen Byers and the UK competition authorities. Moody's will no 
doubt be aghast to learn that Yell could be worth Pounds 1 billion less as a 
result. 
In 1996 the Monopolies and Mergers Commission found that BT's Yellow Pages 
had an 85 per cent monopoly of its market and made it sign undertakings to 
cut prices by 2 per cent a year in real terms. The Office of Fair Trading has 
reviewed this report; predictably, it has found that the enforced price cuts 
have kept competition down and kept Yell's market share up. 
The reasoning behind OFT advice that annual real price cuts should be doubled 
is closed to scrutiny until Mr Byers has a new BT undertaking. But it appears 
to argue that the market is still a monopoly, so Yell must be charging too 
much, so prices should fall further. 
The result, according to those formerly eager to buy Yell, is that a growth 
business has been turned into a stagnant one, losing all momentum. This 
sounds typical of the dead hand of UK regulation. It must strengthen the 
resolve of BT's new leaders to remodel what the authorities so hate to the 
greater advantage of shareholders.

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



OUTLOOK
Outlook
Houston needs to think small about future technology
WILLIAM DYLAN POWELL

05/13/2001
Houston Chronicle
2 STAR
4
(Copyright 2001)

OK, it's test time - sort of like a breakfast-time Rorschach test for Outlook 
readers. Here we go: What's the first thing that comes to mind when someone 
mentions Houston? 
Time's up. Your answers may have been energy, medicine or seemingly random 
acts of highway closure. But how about something very, very small? While 
Houston may not exactly be synonymous with all things tiny, we may want to 
start giving more mind share to the world of the miniature. As technology 
advances, Houston may owe a great deal to the study of small substances.
Nanotechnology is the study of creating functional structures on a molecular 
scale (the prefix "nano" means one billionth, or 10 to the ninth power 
numerically). Its theories and practices give scientists the means to 
construct useful entities using the smallest known particle of unaltered 
matter. 
Before your eyes glaze over in a terminology-induced science class flashback, 
you should hear some of the possibilities that this technology could afford 
residents of the Bayou City and their respective commercial enterprises. The 
possibilities give the works of science fiction author Ray Bradbury a run for 
their money, and include producing computers the size of viruses or factories 
that could fit neatly on your desk. Cancer-destroying robots could roam a 
patient's innards like mounted police at a spring break celebration. 
Eventually, all diseases and mutations could be eliminated. And all 
manufacturing processes would become waste-free, both in terms of the 
environment and from a business process standpoint. 
Sound like science fiction? Maybe, but truth is rapidly catching up with 
fiction. A team of university researchers recently figured out how to make a 
functional switch out of a single organic molecule. Discoveries such as these 
have spawned several branch fields of study including nanobiotics, NEMS 
(nanoelectromechanical systems) and nanomedicine. 
This technology would surely change the world. But it would especially affect 
Houston. Applications for nanotechnology are a great fit for Houston's 
economic landscape. The chemical industry already has begun conducting 
research in small-sizing certain chemical compounds. And the energy industry, 
still our darling, has great interest in the power management possibilities 
of nanotech. This could be Houston's next great vehicle for economic 
development. 
Nay-sayers have expressed caution regarding progress in this field on two 
separate fronts. First on how distant potential commercial offerings remain; 
and secondly on the potential dangers of combining genetic engineering, 
nanotechnology and robotics (for fear of creating self-assembling intelligent 
machines as often portrayed in science-fiction movies). But too much 
technological progress is happening at once for the possibilities not to whet 
the appetites of the entire scientific and business communities. 
Already, developmental overtures have been heard from Houston's little sister 
to the north. The Dallas-Fort Worth region and its growing base of 
semiconductor, light assembly and defense industries are keeping a close eye 
on developments in small science. In March, a private-sector company donated 
$2.5 million to the University of Texas at Dallas for nanotech research. And 
a handful of Dallas-area groups have been quietly conducting research of 
their own. This money augments the federal government's nearly half-billion 
dollar allotment of 2001 research funding for nanotechnology. Houston has its 
own projects, but they receive far less publicity. 
Houston's public nanoscience efforts have been centered mostly on Rice 
University's grand Turks of academia. Pushing the envelope of academic 
excellence as usual, Rice's heavyweight research barons continue to generate 
and distribute knowledge on the many potential applications of this exciting 
technology. But as successful as they are, they receive far less publicity 
and support than other less commercially significant disciplines. 
On May 29, leaders from the energy, medical and technology sectors will 
converge at the Houston Technology Forum to discuss various technology trends 
that will affect Houston's future. Will the keynote speakers (chief 
executives from Compaq, the Texas Medical Center and Enron) address the issue 
of what Houston is doing to prepare for advances in nanotechnology and its 
potential economic impact on the region? 
I certainly hope so. Energy, medicine and technology are the terra firma of 
Houston's economy. Each of these industry sectors could reap profound 
benefits by bringing nanotechnology's concepts to light. 
Sure, the fruits of this nascent science are still a long way off. But it's 
going to become remarkably important sooner than we think. So while 
Houstonians are well known for our love of largeness, it's time to think 
small. Let's take a careful evaluation of what this technology could mean to 
our city and its economic development.

Drawing 

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


A
Panel plots new course for area's future / Education, economics, quality of 
life top group's list of needed improvements
MIKE SNYDER
Staff

05/13/2001
Houston Chronicle
4 STAR
33
(Copyright 2001)

A group of prominent business executives, worried that Houston's reputation 
as an unpleasant place to live imperils its future, is developing a plan to 
transform the city's educational system, urban design and economic base. 
The work of the Center for Houston's Future, a nonprofit group affiliated 
with the Greater Houston Partnership, reflects growing concern that Houston 
must reposition itself as a vibrant, desirable destination if it is to 
compete in an economic climate that empowers skilled workers to live wherever 
they choose.
Creating such a "livable city," leaders of the effort say, would in turn 
enrich the lives of every Houstonian. 
"The interests of the business community are fully aligned with the interests 
of the community at large," said Eugene H. Vaughan, a money management 
executive and board chairman of the Center for Houston's Future. 
A report prepared for the organization by a business-based task force 
recommends that local leaders challenge long-held assumptions that have 
discouraged meaningful land-use planning. It sketches a vision of Houston 20 
years from now in which technology and other tools have revolutionized public 
education, "livable city centers" have changed the physical landscape and 
current civic leaders have groomed a new, more diverse generation of 
successors. 
The report argues that the business community's traditional leadership role 
in Houston's civic affairs should continue. But it suggests the models of 
business influence that prevailed in "the old days" should be re-examined. 
"Those were the days when oil was king, and Houston was the energy capital of 
the world - the days when a handful of `big' leaders, including CEOs of major 
corporations, could meet in a room together and decide on the future of 
Houston," the report states. 
"But times have changed, and there is far less tolerance in Houston's highly 
diverse, egalitarian society for a hidden oligarchy to run things, no matter 
how benevolent those leaders might be." 
The center's board includes top executives of some of Houston's most 
successful and influential companies, including Enron Chairman Ken Lay; Ned 
Holmes, chairman and CEO of Parkway Investments/Texas Inc.; James Royer, 
president and CEO of Turner, Collie & Braden Inc.; William White, president 
and CEO of WEDGE Group Inc.; and Jim Kollaer, president and CEO of the 
Greater Houston Partnership. 
Vaughan said the stature of the board members is an indication that the group 
is not likely to generate plans that will simply sit on a shelf. 
"They've got so many demands on their time that they're not going to fool 
around with something that is ill-conceived," he said. 
Rice University sociology professor Stephen Klineberg, one of the experts who 
advised the task force that generated the report, agreed that the center's 
work could be very influential. 
"This is the first time there's been a systematic, coordinated effort on the 
part of the business community" to improve Houston's quality of life, 
Klineberg said. 
The Center for Houston's Future was created in the early 1990s primarily as a 
source of research information for the partnership, Houston's premier 
business organization. But its role changed about two years ago, Vaughan 
said, when Holmes became chairman of the partnership and encouraged the 
center to take an aggressive approach to planning for the region's future. 
Last summer, the center organized three workshops attended by 36 people 
representing a cross section of the business community. These 10-day, 
seven-night events, led by professional facilitators and featuring various 
guest speakers, produced a report outlining four possible future Houston 
scenarios. 
James D. Calaway, a member of the center's board, said the details outlined 
in the four scenarios are intended to be "illustrative" and are not 
necessarily the actions the organization ultimately will recommend. However, 
they provide insight into the direction of the group's thinking, he said. 
In the first scenario, based on the assumption that local planning and 
decision-making proceed much as they have in the past, the workshop 
participants speculate that tension between the city and suburbs increases to 
the point that the Legislature strips Houston of its annexation power. 
Development is greatly restricted because of failure to meet clean-air 
standards, property values plummet and the City Council must pass a large tax 
rate increase. 
Houston becomes a stronghold of low-wage, service-sector employment, and the 
gap between rich and poor widens: "For many who live there, it's simply a 
large urban sprawl, adrift in the global economy, or it's a three-year 
hardship post on the way to something more desirable." 
Scenario two suggests that Houston's leaders transform the educational system 
by developing a "Teacher Network" that delivers Internet-based educational 
resources into every classroom and teacher's home in the region. This in turn 
leads to a communitywide electronic educational network, with every home in 
the Houston area connected to the Internet by 2007. 
These efforts, combined with universal, full-day preschool care, lead to 
state-of-the-art local schools by 2010, with almost universal high school 
graduation rates and 75 percent of these graduates going on to college or 
technical training programs. 
The report does not estimate the cost of these measures or identify how they 
would be funded. Potential sources, Calaway said, include local, state and 
federal tax money, private grants and reallocation of funds now being spent 
on more traditional educational programs. 
In scenario three, local leaders take bold steps to overcome Houston's 
reputation for sprawl, dirty air and lack of green space - perceptions that 
hamper efforts to attract the talent needed to keep the region economically 
competitive. 
These leaders develop a vision of Houston based on the creation of "livable 
city centers" - major activity centers targeted for redesign and 
redevelopment - and the connection of these centers through "personal and 
public transport in corridors that delight the eye." 
Within the centers, streets are reconstructed to better accommodate 
pedestrians. Financial incentives prompt developers to provide a wide range 
of housing styles, including substantial affordable housing. The Main Street 
light rail line is built, succeeds spectacularly and is followed by more rail 
lines extending in various directions. 
To accomplish these goals, the report states, local leaders must overcome 
their "ingrained suspicion of planning," and the City Council must adopt 
"new, more prescriptive development standards" within the livable city 
centers. Early successes lead to a public referendum authorizing the 
expenditure of $8 billion over 20 years to create the "livable city." 
Scenario four focuses on making Houston a "crossroads of the world economy." 
The city's business leadership becomes broader and more diverse, and it turns 
its energy toward diversifying the economy. 
The energy industry, adapting to the new economic climate, transforms its 
business model and creates new, high-tech enterprises. Space, nanotechnology 
and biotechnology research help launch hundreds of companies that quickly 
become significant global players. 
The workshop participants concluded that Houston must accomplish key elements 
of scenarios two, three and four if it is to become a "true world-class city 
in which to live and conduct business." 
Calaway and Vaughan said the next steps will include designating committees 
to develop specific recommendations in each of the broad areas studied, such 
as education and quality of life. Working groups then will be established to 
begin translating these ideas into policy, they said. 
Although the center is focused on the long term, they said, it must produce 
results as soon as possible. 
"If we do not get serious about this, 20 years from now we're going to be a 
low-wage environment, putting people in very, very dead- end jobs," Calaway 
said during a recent presentation on the group's work to members of the 
nonprofit Gulf Coast Institute. 
"We've got to get the quality of life right, but we've also got to make sure 
that we educate these kids for our future."

Mugs: 1. Ken Lay (p. 45); 2. Ned Holmes (p. 45); 3. James Royer (p. 45); 4. 
Jim Kollaer (p. 45) 

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


MSEB not to pick up 15 pc in DPC after phase II completion

05/13/2001
Press Trust of India Limited
(c) 2001 PTI Ltd.

Mumbai, May 13 (PTI) Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) has decided 
not to pick up the remaining 15 per cent equity in Enron-promoted Dabhol 
Power Company (DPC), which it was earlier supposed to, after the complete 
construction of the entire USD three billion power project in Dabhol. 
"It is true that we had promised to take the 15 per cent, translating into 
infusion of around USD 65 million and given the serious financial stress the 
board is facing, it is not going to be possible for us to participate in the 
phase II of the project", a senior MSEB official told PTI here Sunday.
Currently, Enron International owns 65 per cent, MSEB -15 per cent, General 
Electric and Bechtel 10 per cent each. 
However, MSEB is yet to send an official intimation to DPC in this regard, 
the official said adding the board would inform the company soon after the 
completion of the project. 
DPC's USD 1.87 billion phase II would be fired on June seven, 2001, thus 
marking completion of the 2,184 MW project. 
DPC, which received a Foreign Investment and Promotion Board clearance in 
last December for its 10.83 billion foreign Direct Investment, has not been 
able to scout an alternative fifth partner for MSEB's equity. 
The company had decided to off load the 15 per cent of its current holding of 
65 per cent to a new entity, as according to the company's global 
debt-consolidation it needed to maintain its stake at 50 per cent in DPC 
after its completion. 
In order to avoid any delay, Enron had agreed to meet up with the equity 
shortfall as per the former's agreement with its lenders. 
(THROUGH ASIA PULSE) 13-05 2001

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


Enron plans to pull out of Gulf gas project: MEED

05/13/2001
Agence France-Presse
(Copyright 2001)

DUBAI, May 13 (AFP) - Enron Corp. of the United States plans to pull out of a 
project to deliver Qatari gas to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Middle East 
Economic Digest (MEED) reported on Sunday. 
Enron is a partner in the Dolphin Energy project along with the 
Franco-Belgian company TotalFinaElf and the Abu Dhabi government- owned UAE 
Offsets Group (UOG). Its role is to build a pipeline under the Gulf between 
Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
"The profit margin for Enron would be low. At present, the Dolphin project is 
being developed primarily as an upstream venture," an industry source told 
MEED. 
Another industry publication, Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), reported 
last week that the two other partners regarded Enron's estimated cost for 
constructing and laying the 350-kilometre (220- mile) undersea pipeline as 
too high. 
"There is talk of new partners," a source with TotalFinaElf, whose role is to 
develop a block in Qatar's giant North Field, told MEED. "But whatever 
happens, we are staying." 
On March 14, Qatar and the UAE inked a 25-year term sheet agreement on the 
project, setting the volume at two billion cubic feet (20 million cubic 
metres) of natural gas per day. 
Differences over pricing and volumes had put back the signing of the 
agreement for two years after a first statement of principle for Dolphin was 
inked by Qatar and UOG in March 1999. 
According to MEES, Qatar Petroleum and UOG have finally agreed on a gas price 
formula of 1.3 dollars per million BTU (British thermal units) following 
"high-level political intervention from Qatar and Abu Dhabi". 
TotalFinaElf and Enron are strategic partners in the multi- billion-dollar 
project, each holding a 24.5 percent share in Dolphin Energy Limited (DEL), 
with UOG retaining a controlling 51 percent stake. 
From Abu Dhabi, the gas is to be distributed inside the emirate and on to 
Dubai and Oman. An extension to Pakistan through an undersea pipeline is also 
planned, as part of a regional gas network. 
hc/rp

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


BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS / Pleasure cruisin' / Yacht fleet owner offers customers what 
amounts to limo service on the lake
CAROL RUST
Special to the Chronicle

05/13/2001
Houston Chronicle
2 STAR
1
(Copyright 2001)

KEMAH - Tom Lober trundled home from second grade with a three- tiered wooden 
box he'd made at school. 
"This is my houseboat," he told his mother 35 years ago. "When I grow up, I'm 
going to live on a boat."
His practical-minded mother put the "boat" to work as a patio plant stand 
until it finally rotted from a decade of exposure. 
On a recent evening, Lober stood on the bow of one of his four charter 
yachts, enjoying the sunset-tinted water and a mild breeze as the 100-foot 
luxury boat moved quietly from Clear Lake into Galveston Bay. 
"This is what I love," Lober said, scanning a horizon dotted with distant 
boats. "The others are here to party, but this is it for me." 
The founder and owner of Star Fleet Entertainment Yachts spoke calmly against 
the din of a mini-Mardi Gras heating up on middeck, where bead-clad 
executives were letting their hair down at their annual appreciation party 
for a major customer. A Mae West look- alike hired for the event meandered 
among them, handing out cigars and sultry comments in her mermaid-cut white 
dress studded with faux pearls and a white feather boa twirled about her 
neck. 
In the eight and one-half years since the 42-year-old Lober started Star 
Fleet, he's seen everything from fire-eaters to hula dancers as entertainment 
on the hundreds of custom cruises his staff of 70 puts together each year. 
Last year, the company booked 400 cruises, which translated into $2.3 million 
in gross sales, in events ranging from Gulf Coast versions of company picnics 
to a bat mitzvah with a Gilligan's Island theme. One guy recently plunked 
down $2,000 to charter an entire boat for a date. 
One of Lober's seven captains is, handily, a licensed minister for weddings. 
Star Fleet staff recently added squirt guns, Hula Hoops and limbo sticks as 
regular on-board equipment. 
"It's a bizarre business," Lober said. "Nothing seems unusual anymore." 
Nearly all Star Fleet's cruises include dinner. His kitchen staff does the 
prep work for hors d'oeuvres and main courses on land near the marina, 
transferring them to a generous galley on board before customers arrive. The 
galley crew does the final cooking. 
Star Fleet Entertainment Yachts is one of about a dozen businesses of its 
size in the country that provides strictly private charter yacht cruises, but 
Lober has hundreds of competitors locally. 
"I'm competing with caterers, hotels, restaurants - anyone in the eating, 
drinking and party business," he said. "People say there are two things 
you're never supposed to own: a boat and a restaurant. I put a restaurant on 
a boat." 
Last month, he launched what he believes is the first-ever water limousine, a 
30-foot yacht complete with wet bar, sound system, leather couches, TV and 
VCR that takes small groups to waterfront restaurants and bars, just like a 
limo does on land. 
Sometimes, his clients hop off and dine at one of the restaurants on the 
Kemah Boardwalk while the limo is anchored beside it. In other cases, waiters 
deliver the food to the boat, equipped with removable dining tables that can 
seat 14, and the customers dine while cruising Clear Lake. 
Lober was a natural shoo-in for a career on the water. His father owned a 
supply boat business in Houston and a fleet of shrimp boats based in 
Trinidad. He eventually became president of his dad's supply boat business 
after getting a master's degree in maritime management from Texas A&M 
Maritime Academy in Galveston in 1981. 
But he still had that idea from second grade that grew from living on a boat 
to providing exclusive entertainment on the water. 
In 1986, he joined the Passenger Vessel Association, a national group of 
vessel owners that provides public or private cruises for gaming, ecotourism 
or other entertainment. He attended seminars, talked to boat owners, 
researched trends in the industry and tried to figure out what it would take 
to float his idea. 
Lober drew up plans for a boat big enough to accommodate up to 150 
passengers, but with a three-foot draft to keep from running aground in the 
notoriously shallow Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. 
"I wanted to be able to take that boat anywhere on the lake," which is five 
feet deep in places, he said. 
Bankers were skeptical when he approached them for a loan. 
"This was a new business in Houston that had never been done before," Lober 
said. "They had no confidence. 
"I finally got to the point where I'd just take my business plan into a bank 
and say, `I know I'm not going to get a loan - just look at what I've got and 
tell me what it needs,' " he said. 
Even without a loan in place, Lober began hands-on research. During the week, 
he still worked at his father's supply boat business, but flew to Fort 
Lauderdale, Fla., on weekends to work as a deck hand and food server for a 
charter yacht company to learn the business from the bottom up. 
After a year of loan seeking, he found a lender at the Passenger Vessel 
Association's annual meeting. Caterpillar Finance agreed to lend him 60 
percent of the $950,000 in construction costs if he installed Caterpillar 
engines on the boat. 
Construction took a year, during which Lober continued his research, serving 
drinks on weekends aboard a charter boat on the Detroit River and Lake St. 
Clair. 
Finally, Lober launched Star Gazer in October 1993. 
The maritime academy might have taught him how to navigate by the stars, but 
it didn't prepare him for marketing. 
"I didn't know what I was doing," Lober said. "The first year, I spent 
$125,000 in marketing blunders," including a $50,000 mass mail campaign that 
he called "a total flop." 
Marketing was twice as expensive as he thought it would be and took twice as 
long for potential customers to understand the concept he was trying to sell, 
he said. Meanwhile, his boat sat in the stall for up to three weeks at a 
time. 
Lober had a $30,000 monthly overhead in debt service, office rental, 
insurance and slip fees, and "I still had to pay it if the boat didn't leave 
once," he said. 
Panicked, he joined the Greater Houston Partnership to seek out ideas, and he 
got one: target marketing. 
He and his small staff scrutinized every detail about the people who used the 
boat and set out to find more like them. He set his sights on the corporate 
client, which makes up about 70 percent of his business today. Corporate 
customers include Enron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Continental Airlines and Katy 
Mills mall. 
"We have had our party with Star Fleet every year for five years," said Ravi 
Lal, director of ethylene division of Technip, based in San Dimas, Calif. 
"The first year, I wanted to do something special that I hadn't seen before. 
Everybody likes it, and everybody wants to come back." 
Business slowly began to build, and word spread. Lober added the 90-foot Star 
Cruiser in 1997, the 74-foot Star Spirit in 1999, and brought in a fourth, 
the Lake Limo, last month. Also in 1999, he bought 6 acres with 600 feet of 
waterfront and built Star Fleet Marina. While part of that land is still 
undeveloped, it eventually will become a parking lot for 500 cars when Lober 
adds a fifth large yacht, Star Ship, sometime in the future. 
"We plan to add Star Ship when we're turning down enough business from the 
other boats," he said. 
After more than eight years, Lober has yet to take home a salary, putting 
everything back into the business. 
The more he puts back, the more business he can accommodate. 
But Lober and his staff still keep close tabs on their customers. 
"We track everything - which individuals, what type of event, whether they 
prefer sit-down dinners, how they heard about us - you name it," he said. 
It's a lot of details. He knows that blackout shades, pull-down projector 
screens and multiple microphone jacks are needed for presentations, and that 
some clients like to be picked up at one of the Galveston hotels or other 
locations on the Houston Ship Channel. 
If a customer hires a deejay, a crewmember provides padding to put underneath 
the CD player on the bandstand because dancing on the steel dance floor 
causes the player to bounce. 
Lober's three full-time cruise consultants handle charter buses to and from 
the marina, limos, menus, photographers and decorations. They work with Star 
Fleet's in-house florist and theme designer to provide floral arrangements 
for sit-down dinners and Hawaiian leis of fresh orchids and hibiscus for a 
major retailer's party, for which the florist helped transform the boat's 
stanchions into palm trees. 
And consultants have their own suggestions, such as bestowing captains' hats 
instead of the usual corsages to employees with top sales who were being 
honored at a recent floating awards banquet. 
Lober believes his company's custom service brings customers back. 
"They handle all the details once, and after customers go on that first 
cruise, they're sold on the concept," he said. "People love something 
different. We provide a different kind of party. If they do it once, they 
usually want to do it again." 
But cruises aren't limited to parties, Lober said. Customers have chartered 
boats for banquets, retreats, new product introductions, incentive awards 
dinners and for scattering loved ones' ashes. 
About 60 percent of Star Fleet's business is repeat and referral. The recent 
corporate party featuring the Mae West look-alike was the fifth the company 
has chosen to have with Star Fleet. 
Part of Lober's initial marketing problem - which continues today - is that 
Houstonians just don't realize how close to the water they are. 
"It's not like Fort Lauderdale, where water is part of the landscape," he 
said. "In Houston, there's no high-visibility location to see the water, just 
one spot on Loop 610 that overlooks the Port of Houston. Even in Clear Lake, 
there are only one or two places when you drive around the lake that you can 
actually see the water. We don't have a San Francisco Bay or New York Harbor. 
So people have to be reminded." 
He also has to deal with the misconception that only the very rich can afford 
cruises, Lober said. 
"Some people think they can't afford a luxury yacht, but when they compare 
our complete package with upscale restaurants, hotel banquet facilities, 
country clubs and wedding manors, we are quite competitive," he said. "And 
our food is gourmet quality. Just like a five-star hotel, we never cut 
corners." 
Event cruises start at $40 per guest including food, bar, entertainment, tax 
and gratuities. 
Lober depends heavily on customer surveys to develop the service he and his 
crew provide. And customers informally give Star Fleet staff new ideas with 
some of the extras they bring aboard, such as the squirt guns, Mardi Gras 
beads, Hula Hoops and limbo sticks. 
"We learn a lot from our customers," he said. "We see what they do, take the 
best and give it back to them." 
Because customer surveys indicate that about 20 percent of Star Fleet's 
business comes from being seen on the water, Lober and his captains make 
their crafts as visible as possible whenever they take them out. The real 
opportunity for hot-dogging comes when a customer charters two or three 
boats, and they raft up to become the Star Fleet flotilla, with customers 
moving from one boat to another. A three-boat charter can handle up to 375 
guests. 
But one boat can still do a lot of advertising. 
At the recent corporate party, Mae West joined the other revelers who were 
slinging Mardi Gras beads at al fresco diners as Capt. Tony DeFore edged Star 
Gazer close to the Kemah waterfront. They may not have known it, but they 
were doing a little of Lober's public relations work for him. 
As the boat pulled back into the Star Fleet Marina, Lober pointed out a barge 
under construction. When it is finished - by the end of the year, he hopes - 
the bottom floor will be a galley for food preparation, the second the Star 
Fleet office and the third floor an 1,800-square-foot apartment. 
It will kind of resemble that three-tiered wooden box he brought home from 
school years ago, Lober says. 
And he's going to live at the top.


Photos: 1-2. Left: Star Gazer, first of the Star Fleet Entertainment Yachts, 
launched in 1993, sets sail for Southshore Harbor earlier this month. From 
left to right are bartender Bridget Byous, server Leona Clark, Cruise 
Director Edith Mitchell and President Tom Lober. Below: Cruise Director Edith 
Mitchell unties the Star Gazer's bow line (color); 3. Star Fleet 
Entertainment yachts President Tom Lober watches server Leona Clark polish 
silverware for a buffet dinner aboard the Star Gazer. Last year, the company 
booked more than 400 cruises, generating $2.3 million (color, p. 4) 

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


More power to reform agenda
Soma Banerjee

05/13/2001
The Economic Times
Copyright (C) 2001 The Economic Times; Source: World Reporter (TM)

THE electricity industry is often identified as the black sheep in the 
infrastructure sector which has continued to lag behind despite an overdose 
of government support. 
Despite being one of the earlier industries to be opened up, private 
investments in this sector have failed to take off.
Worse, the only sizeable project which was something to write home about 
Enrons Dabhol Power plant in Maharashtra is currently a under cloud with its 
promoters involved in a legal battle with the state entity and its sole 
consumer for non-payment of bills. Policy makers and investors in the energy 
sector are still groping to find ways and means to improve the performance of 
this key industry. 
Although private investments were expected to come in a big way in creating 
new capacities, policy uncertainties and above all the poor financial health 
of the consumer, in most cases the SEBs, have posed major problems for power 
plant developers. 
After about ten years of liberalisation, the private sector has to its credit 
only about 5000 MW and according to projections by experts investments in 
greenfield projects are unlikely before four to five years. 
The factors that have been taken into consideration in the current projection 
are almost inbuilt into the system. For one, there is a general agreement 
that stressing on generation alone without doing much on the distribution 
front has eroded the financial health of most SEBs. 
``Private power developers cannot be expected to invest in projects till they 
are assured that they will be paid for the energy produced, experts say. 
But like the recent Montek Singh Ahluwalia report maintains, such reforms 
cannot be done overnight and will require minimum five to seven years before 
they break even. 
The sector has already seen major exits like Cogentrix and Powergen and if 
the current trends are anything to go by it would not be long before Enron 
too says Sayonara India, claim sources in the power industry. 
IPPAI, an association for private power investments, feels that the flip-flop 
by the government as far as power policies are concerned have made it 
difficult for investors to take decisions. 
``Take this as an example at one time there were more than 200 MoUs signed up 
for private power projects, the government provided counter guarantees for 
eight projects, of which only three have taken off. Of this the Enron project 
is already facing problems of nonpayment, says a senior source. 
According to estimates drawn up by financial institutions like Power Finance 
Corporation an organisation responsible for monitoring the financial health 
of the SEBs and helping them with their reform programmes almost all the SEBs 
have registered a negative turnover. Which is why the financing or 
escrowability of SEBs across the country has been reduced to zero. 
According to Union power minister Suresh Prabhu, the states are now 
responsive to changes and reforms and the recent drive initiated by the 
Centre to work with the state governments was expected to yield results. 
But this sector has seen far too many committees which have failed to yield 
much hope and it is only sheer determination of SEBs and political will that 
can help this backbencher.

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


India Power Min: New Power Deal With Enron Unit Possible
By Himendra Kumar
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

05/12/2001
Dow Jones International News
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India is hopeful the Maharashtra State Electricity 
Board's power purchase agreement with the U.S. energy company Enron Corp.'s 
(ENE) Indian unit Dabhol Power Co. can be renegotiated and the DPC's dispute 
over payments be settled, the country's federal Power Minister Suresh Prabhu 
said. 
In a weekend interview with Dow Jones Newswires, Prabhu said the very fact 
that the DPC had come to the negotiating table for discussions on its power 
price was an indication that Enron was keen to save its India project.
A special panel, set up by the Maharashtra state government, met with 
representatives of the DPC, for the first time Friday and agreed to another 
meeting May 23. 
Friday's meeting lasted for more than two hours. 
"I am of the view that a negotiated settlement is possible since the first 
meeting of DPC with the Maharahtra state expert panel went off well. There 
has been a positive response both from the DPC and the MSEB after the 
meeting. The central government will also reciprocate by participating in a 
meaningful dialogue. The next meeting will really decide on how it all goes," 
Prabhu said. 
Earlier this week, in an e-mail to Dow Jones Newswires from Houston, Enron 
Vice President John Ambler however, said, "While we have constantly 
maintained that we are open to continuing a dialogue towards resolving 
issues, this (Friday) meeting should in no manner be construed as an open 
offer from DPC to renegotiate the terms of the contract." 
The Maharashtra state government contends that the price paid for electricity 
from the Dabhol power plant, India's biggest-ever foreign investment at $2.9 
billion, is "unaffordable" and seeks to renegotiate tariffs. 
A recent committee appointed by the government, the Godbole panel, 
recommended that the power purchase agreement be renegotiated. 
Dabhol has come under fire because of the relatively high cost of its power. 
Critics object to Dabhol charging 7.1 rupees ($1=INR46.8825) a kilowatt-hour 
for its power, compared with INR1.5/kwh charged by other suppliers. 
The 2,184-megawatt DPC project in Maharashtra has been mired in financial 
disputes after the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, its main customer, 
failed to pay the December 2000 and January bills. The Godbole panel is 
working toward lowering the DPC's power tariff and allowing the sale of 
excess power to the federal government or its utilities. A restructuring of 
the DPC's stakeholding may also be on the agenda. 
The Maharashtra government has asked the committee to try to negotiate a 
revised agreement within a month. The DPC currently operates a 740-megawatt 
naphtha plant contributing about 0.7% to India's installed capacity. Enron 
has maintained that work will be completed by the year-end in the second 
phase of the Dabhol project that will add 1,444 MW to its capacity. The plant 
will switch from naphtha to liquefied natural gas as a fuel source in 2002. 
Texas-based Enron has a 65% stake in the DPC and is the project's largest 
shareholder. Other shareholders include the MSEB with 15%, and General 
Electric Co. (GE) and Bechtel Enterprises (X.BTL) with 10% each. 
-By Himendra Kumar, Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9427; 
himendra.kumar@dowjones.com

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


India: Talks begin on Dabhol issue

05/12/2001
Business Line (The Hindu)
Copyright (C) 2001 Kasturi & Sons Ltd (KSL); Source: World Reporter (TM) - 
Asia Intelligence Wire

MUMBAI, May 11. OFFICIALS of Enron India today met the expert committee 
headed by Dr Madhav Godbole to discuss the fate of Enron's Dabhol Power 
Company. 
Mr A.V. Gokak, Union Government representative, who was appointed only last 
night, could not attend the meeting due to the short notice.
Lenders to the project who were to attend the meeting stayed away. 
Instead, Mr A.G. Karkhanis, former Executive Director, Industrial Development 
Bank of India, attended as observer on behalf of foreign and Indian lenders, 
Mr Vinay Mohan Lal, Energy Secretary, told reporters here after the meeting. 
When asked about Enron's reluctance to renegotiate, Mr Lal said: "They are 
coming again on May 23. What does that mean?" 
Though none of those present at the meeting was willing to give more details, 
senior State Government officials had earlier told Business Line that the 
State would be willing to discuss phase II only after a decision on the 
rebate slapped on DPC. 
"Basically our strategy will be to bring the Rs 401- crore rebate payable by 
DPC to the centre-stage," the official said. "The company has not mentioned a 
single word about the rebate in any of their letters to either the MSEB or 
the State. And we, on the other hand, have discussed anything but the rebate 
in our letters to DPC," he said. 
Mr Wade Cline, Managing Director, Enron India, did not comment on whether the 
company would issue the preliminary termination notice. 
The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) Chairman, Mr Vinay Bansal, and 
Mr Lal had last evening briefed the Democratic Front constituents about their 
stand vis-a-vis Enron. 
They are understood to have told the political brass of the State that MSEB 
does not need the second phase of the Dabhol power project. 
They categorically said MSEB would not buy power from DPC-phase II, it is 
learnt. 
MSEB also reiterated its stand that DPC should adjust the dues owed by it 
against the non-performance penalty. 
Senior MSEB officials said the board had replied to the arbitration notice 
issued by DPC and made its position clear. The board is of the opinion that 
DPC should adjust Rs 213 crore - the December and January bills - against the 
Rs 401 crore penalty for performance default. 
The State Government also has backed the MSEB in its replies to the three 
arbitration notices served on it. It has said that since MSEB does not accept 
the charges - non-compliance with the power purchase agreement (PPA) - 
leveled against it, the State is not bound to pay. 
The Centre too is understood to have backed MSEB in its preliminary reply to 
the conciliation notice from DPC. 
Today's meeting was attended by Mr Cline, Mr Neil McGregor, President, DPC, 
Mr Mukesh Tyagi, Vice-President, DPC, and Mr Sanjeev Khandekar, VP, DPC, and 
Mr Mohan Gurunath, Chief Financial Officer, DPC. 
Among the renegotiation panel members, Mr Deepak Parekh, Mr E A S Sarma and 
Mr Kirit Parikh were also unable to attend. The next meeting is scheduled on 
May 23, Mr Lal said. 
Gokak nominated to panel: The Government has nominated former fertiliser and 
telecom secretary, Mr A.V. Gokak, to the arbitration committee involving 
Dabhol Power Company (DPC). 
The Power Ministry had earlier mooted the additional solicitor general, Mr 
Harish Salve's candidature for the job. 
The conciliation process, however, has been hanging fire as the third 
conciliator is yet to be appointed. Dabhol Power Company had written to the 
Centre last month seeking six names for selection of a mutually acceptable 
conciliator to kick- start the conciliation process. 
DPC's letter to the Finance Ministry was seen in the context of the 
substantial delay between the initiation of the conciliation process three 
weeks ago and the finalisation of the conciliators. Soon after the 
conciliation process was initiated, DPC decided to invoke political force 
majeure and moved in for arbitration - a prelude to termination of the 
project. 
Our Bureau

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


India to allow 3rd party sale if DPC, MSEB jointly approach

05/12/2001
Press Trust of India Limited
(c) 2001 PTI Ltd.

Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) The Federal Government will allow sale of power to a 
"willing buyer" if the Enron-promoted Dabhol Power Company (DPC) and 
Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) will together approach the power 
ministry with a concrete proposal for their 2,184 mw project in Dabhol. 
"I will give whatever status they want, including a mega project one, if DPC 
and MSEB jointly approach the Centre (Federal Government) for the same", 
Indian Power Minister Suresh Prabhu told reporters here Saturday.
He said the Indian Government would extend its cooperation to the Maharashtra 
government (western state) "in every way" to resolve the imbroglio between 
MSEB and DPC. 
When pointed out that both the state government and DPC were of the opinion 
that federal power utility National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) should 
buy the power, Prabhu said NTPC cannot do so as it was power selling entity 
and not buying one. 
"There is no question of NTPC buying power from the project since long term 
power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been signed by NTPC with the buying 
states", he reiterated. 
Prabhu said the Indian Government would also try and find out potential 
buyers of DPC power "if other states were willing to buy the same". 
Earlier in his meeting with state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the 
latter had suggested that NTPC sell the excess power over and above the 
300-400 MW needed for the state from the 740 MW phase-I and soon to be 
commissioned phase-II of 1,444 MW, to other needy states. 
(THROUGH ASIA PULSE) 12-05 2001

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


LOCAL STORIES
DEFAZIO CALLS FOR STATE TO BUY PGE TO PROTECT RATES
DAVE HOGAN AND JEFF MAPES of the Oregonian Staff

05/12/2001
Portland Oregonian
SUNRISE
C01
(Copyright (c) The Oregonian 2001)

Summary: The suggestion generates little enthusiasm and critics suspect it's 
motivated by the lawmaker's possible race for governor 
"I believe this is an extraordinary opportunity and a way that we can 
insulate almost a quarter of our population and a core of Oregon's business 
community from the craziness that is going on in the energy wholesale 
markets." -- U.S. REP. PETER DeFAZIO D-ORE.
The state of Oregon should consider buying investor-owned Portland General 
Electric to help protect Oregonians from gyrations in the electricity market, 
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio declared Friday. 
Gov. John Kitzhaber reacted politely and said he'll explore the idea, but 
others said it's a long shot because of political, financial and timing 
factors. 
Critics said the proposal appeared aimed more at attracting attention to 
DeFazio's potential candidacy for governor than anything else. 
Several companies already are considering buying the utility, but DeFazio 
said state ownership could help keep PGE customers' electricity rates low and 
generate profits that could help the rest of Oregon. 
"I believe this is an extraordinary opportunity and a way that we can 
insulate almost a quarter of our population and a core of Oregon's business 
community from the craziness that is going on in the energy wholesale 
markets," said DeFazio, D-Ore. 
PGE serves about 725,000 retail customers, mostly in the Portland area, and 
is owned by Houston-based Enron Corp. PGE's sale to Nevada's Sierra Pacific 
Resources for $3.1 billion officially fell apart last month. Other possible 
buyers include Northwest Natural and ScottishPower, which owns PacifiCorp. 
While Enron and PGE officials declined to comment Friday, legislative leaders 
showed no particular enthusiasm for DeFazio's idea. 
"I appreciate his efforts, but I don't think it's the right idea at this 
time," said House Speaker Mark Simmons, R-Elgin. He said the state already 
has a package of bills aimed at spurring more energy production and 
conservation. 
Senate President Gene Derfler, R-Salem, said he'd be willing to sit down and 
talk with DeFazio. "I would not just shut the door," he said, but he doesn't 
plan to devote much work to the proposal. Derfler questioned whether state 
government could run a utility as efficiently as a business. 
DeFazio said a PGE purchase would offer several benefits. State ownership 
would put control of PGE in local hands instead of those of a faraway 
corporation such as ScottishPower. For PGE customers, state ownership would 
provide some protection and stability in electricity rates. It also would be 
a good investment that would pay for itself and perhaps pump revenue back 
into the state's coffers. 
The purchase could be financed with tax-exempt bonds sold by the state. 
DeFazio said state Treasurer Randall Edwards had told him the idea was "in 
the realm of possibility." 
DeFazio's idea is an intriguing one and could provide some benefits, said Bob 
Jenks, executive director of the Citizens' Utility Board, which represents 
customers of investor-owned utilities such as PGE. 
Jenks said the primary benefit would be that, if the state bought PGE, the 
utility would be able to buy lower-priced electricity from the Bonneville 
Power Administration, which is required to sell power at lower rates to 
publicly owned utilities. However, a publicly owned PGE wouldn't be able to 
buy the lower-priced BPA power for about five years because of electricity 
sales contracts that already are in place. 
And even if PGE were able to buy lower-priced BPA power, that wouldn't 
necessarily translate to lower electricity bills for PGE customers, Jenks 
said. In addition, he said it could increase rates for other publicly owned 
utilities because the BPA has a shortage of cheap hydropower. 
The state Public Utility Commission would have to approve any sale of PGE, 
but outgoing PUC Chairman Ron Eachus criticized DeFazio's proposal, saying it 
had the potential to increase rates both for PGE customers and for publicly 
owned utilities. He also said it seemed designed to get political attention 
for DeFazio's potential candidacy. 
"I think we're in the political season where people are proposing grandiose 
schemes that aren't very well thought out, and this seems to be one of 
those," Eachus said. 
DeFazio conceded that a high-profile proposal focused on a Portland-area 
issue such as the ownership of PGE would be a good way for a candidate to 
build support for a run for governor, but he said that had nothing to do with 
his plan. 
You can reach Dave Hogan at 503-221-8531 or by e-mail at 
davehogan@news.oregonian.com.

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


Congressman suggests state buy PGE
By CHARLES E. BEGGS
Associated Press Writer

05/11/2001
Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2001. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Congressman Peter DeFazio on Friday proposed that the 
state buy Portland General Electric as a way to hold down power costs. 
The Democrat outlined his plan after presenting it to Gov. John Kitzhaber, 
who said he would ask his energy advisers to analyze it.
PGE is Oregon's biggest electric utility, serving more than 700,000 
customers. DeFazio said a state purchase of the company could insulate many 
Oregonians from "the craziness in power markets." 
DeFazio said the state could buy the company by issuing revenue bonds and 
have the utility operate as a public power entity. 
He said the purchase would give the state a diverse mix of transmission 
rights along with hydropower, gas, coal and renewable energy sources. 
"While I have not exhaustively researched the proposal, it does appear to be 
feasible," said DeFazio, an opponent of electric deregulation. 
Enron Corp., the Texas-based owner of PGE, is trying to sell the utility. 
Sierra Pacific last month abandoned its plan to buy PGE for $3.1 billion, 
citing increasing difficulties in the current market and the political 
environment in the West. 
Kitzhaber said he's not opposed to the idea of the state buying a private 
utility, as long as it would benefit consumers. 
DeFazio said PGE has been a profitable company, and putting it in public 
ownership could give it preference over private utilities for the Bonneville 
Power Administration's hydropower. 
The congressman's suggestion wasn't welcomed by the Legislature. 
"Thanks, but no thanks," said House Speaker Mark Simmons. 
"Philosophically, I think it's the wrong approach," he said. "We have a 
bipartisan package of bills dealing with the issue." 
Among those are his measure to delay partial electric deregulation for large 
businesses and a bill to speed up the process for siting temporary generating 
plants. 
Senate President Gene Derfler didn't reject the idea, but said the 
Legislature doesn't have enough time in the current session to take on a job 
like a utility purchase.

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