USA: Transwestern plans expansion at Ariz. compressor stations.
Reuters English News Service, 03/29/01

Enron Unit Files Application For $93M Expansion Project
Dow Jones News Service, 03/29/01

El Paso's Calif Gas Play Was Smart,Not Crooked -Analysts
Dow Jones Energy Service, 03/29/01

USA: Maytag farms out energy buying to TXU in 5-year deal.
Reuters English News Service, 03/29/01

EPA's Next Challenge: What to Do About Lead Emissions (Update1)
Bloomberg, 03/29/01

Enron team trying to keep ahead of MS 150 pack 
Houston Chronicle, 03/29/01



USA: Transwestern plans expansion at Ariz. compressor stations.

03/29/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) Transwestern Pipeline Co. (TW), a unit of Enron 
, said in a statement on Thursday it planned to install new compression at 
four existing stations in Arizona to boost gas deliveries to energy-starved 
California. 
The company said it had filed an application with the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand its system by 150 million cubic feet 
per day (mmcfd) of incremental firm capacity.
TW's total capacity to the California border will increase to 1.24 billion 
cubic feet per day (bcfd). 
The $93 million project is expected to be in service by June 2002. 
"This expansion is a start in meeting the increased demand in California and 
represents additional capacity that can be brought on-line by next summer. 
Transwestern also plans a more extensive expansion in the future," said Stan 
Horton, chairman of Enron Transportation Services Company.

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


Enron Unit Files Application For $93M Expansion Project

03/29/2001
Dow Jones News Service
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- Enron Corp.'s (ENE) Transwestern Pipeline Co. unit 
filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a $93 
million expansion project, expected to be in service by June 2002. 
In a press release Thursday, the company said it would install new 
compression at four existing stations in Arizona to expand the system by 150 
million cubic feet per day, or MMcf/d, of incremental firm capacity.
Transwestern Pipeline's total capacity to the California border will increase 
to 1.24 billion cubic feet per day. 
Transwestern Pipeline consists of about 2,500 miles of pipeline with 1.7 
Bcf/d of peak capacity. 
Shares of Enron closed at $55.31, down $2.79, or 4.8% on Nasdaq volume of 5.7 
million shares. Average daily volume is 4.2 million shares. 
Enron, which had 2000 revenue of $101 billion, markets electricity and 
natural gas. 
Company Web site http://www.enron.com 
-Karen M. Chow; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400

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


El Paso's Calif Gas Play Was Smart,Not Crooked -Analysts
By John Edmiston

03/29/2001
Dow Jones Energy Service
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 

HOUSTON -(Dow Jones)- When El Paso Merchant Energy bought up most of the 
capacity on a key natural gas pipeline to California, it was taking a 
"gamble" on higher profits, not trying to corner a market, analysts said.
The auction in which El Paso Merchant Energy bought the capacity from fellow 
El Paso Corp. (EPG) affiliate El Paso Natural Gas was legitimate, and supply 
and demand factors proved the decision sound, they said. 
"El Paso took a gamble on its pipeline capacity, and the fundamentals worked 
out to support their trading position," said Kyle Cooper, an energy analyst 
with Salomon Smith Barney in Houston. 
California officials, struggling to cope with soaring power prices that have 
been driven higher in part by spiking prices of natural gas, see things 
differently. The El Paso pipeline is one of only two main links feeding 
energy from the Southwest's natural gas storage pools into California, and 
state officials contend the Houston-based energy company was trying to 
manipulate the price of gas in the state when it bought up capacity in an 
auction early last year. 
Natural gas in southern California has traded much higher than gas in 
northern California in recent months. At their highest, in December, the 
price of gas in southern California spiked to $60 per million British thermal 
units, six times the cost of gas at the other end of the pipeline in Texas. 
Prices spiked again in February and March and remain much higher than the 
price of gas in producing regions. 
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday rejected a complaint 
from the California Public Utilities Commission alleging that El Paso Natural 
Gas skewed the bidding process for critical natural gas pipeline capacity 
into California. But the commission ordered an administrative hearing to 
address concerns that El Paso controls too much pipeline capacity and is 
driving up prices at the California border. 
The California Legislature was to examine the allegations in its own series 
of hearings next week. On Monday, The New York Times weighed in, reporting 
that sealed documents filed with FERC suggest El Paso sought to increase its 
profits by manipulating natural gas price spreads between its supply basins 
in Texas and New Mexico and the California energy markets. 
Charlie Sanchez of Gelber & Associates in Houston said it's unlikely any 
wrongdoing will be uncovered. "This market has become so complicated that 
many don't know the objectively correct answer to the questions at hand," 
Sanchez said. "It's likely the forces at work will be deemed perfectly 
legal." 
El Paso spokesman Aaron Woods referred requests for comment to previous 
denials of manipulation. 

Charges Are Political - Analyst 

California's charges against are politically motivated, said Ron Barone, an 
analyst with of UBS/PaineWebber Inc. in New York. 
"California needs more pipeline capacity, more power plants, less 
finger-pointing and less resistance to rate hikes that would immediately 
trigger a demand response," Barone said. 
The state's gas-transportation shortfall wasn't always apparent. Before last 
year, capacity into California was considered oversupplied, El Paso 
executives say: Demand didn't cover available capacity, so the company 
discounted its prices. California entities have failed to bid realistically 
to renew capacity in auctions over the past three-and-a-half years, Barone 
said, even when cost of that capacity was substantially below the rates 
allowed by regulations. 
For years the capacity on El Paso's line to California never made money, 
Cooper said. As a result, there was little incentive for anyone to build new 
pipelines. 
Demand from power generators has pushed up the state's appetite for gas. 
According to John Somerhalder, president of El Paso's Pipeline Group, 
requests for gas capacity on pipeline expansions into California are running 
more than 12 times what they were a year ago. 
"El Paso had the foresight to take a calculated risk on the value of that 
capacity and it worked in their favor," Cooper said. "If those fundamentals - 
a normal winter and excess demand and lessened storage capacity across the 
country - hadn't worked out, they'd have lost that 8 cents Dynegy was willing 
to pay them." 
El Paso Merchant Energy reported year 2000 earnings before interest and taxes 
of $563 million, nearly a six-fold increase from adjusted earnings before 
interest and taxes the year before. 
El Paso has said that it couldn't take advantage of the price spikes 
allegedly produced by market manipulation, because it began hedging its risk 
in the middle of last year by selling its gas forward to third parties. By 
the end of the year, it was nearly 90% hedged, Barone said. 
"This hedging capacity is proof that once El Paso actually had capacity, it 
didn't seek to exploit its position to the degree it could have," Barone 
said. 
El Paso has also denied restricting capacity to push up prices, saying that 
it used "virtually all" of its available capacity to move gas to California. 
Higher energy prices have weighed in on much of the nation this winter, and 
experts expect gas futures prices will peak around $8 per million British 
thermal units later this year. 
Shares in El Paso closed Wednesday up $1.12 at $63.85, compared with a 
52-week high of $75.30. 
Enron Corp.'s (ENE) Transwestern Pipeline covers a similar route to 
California markets. In that case, however, capacity was bought by a number of 
companies with smaller positions. 
-By John Edmiston, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9209; 
john.edmiston@dowjones.com

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


USA: Maytag farms out energy buying to TXU in 5-year deal.

03/29/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 (Reuters) - Maytag Corp. the No. 3 U.S. appliance 
maker, said Thursday it signed a five-year energy management deal with a TXU 
Corp. unit, following in the steps of a host of other companies trying to cut 
energy costs and boost profits. 
Under the agreement, subsidiary TXU Energy Services will buy or negotiate 
contracts for natural gas, electricity, coal, fuel oil and propane and 
provide consolidated billing and risk management for 14 Maytag manufacturing 
facilities, TXU said in a statement.
The deal, whose financial terms were not made available, is expected to 
provide Newton, Iowa-based Maytag with significant savings on energy 
expenditures by increasing the energy efficiency and reliability of 
manufacturing facilities, both companies said. 
"By consolidating and analyzing multiple bills for facilities in 10 different 
states and Mexico, we can identify problems and come up with individual 
changes that will help lower Maytag's total utility costs," Ken Breeden, 
president of TXU Energy Services commercial and industrial division, said in 
the statement. 
Dallas, Texas-based TXU serves more than 8,000 customers in 33 states and has 
completed more than 3,500 energy management projects nationwide, including a 
10-year multimillion dollar energy management agreement in February with 
Aperian Inc. , an Internet service solutions provider. 
Manufacturers nationwide have seen profit margins squeezed in the past 
several months due to a host factors, including high energy costs, excess 
capacity, a decline in exports due to the strength of the dollar and sagging 
consumer confidence. 
Another company that recently signed an energy management deals is drug maker 
Eli Lilli and Co. , which signed a 15-year deal in February with Enron Energy 
Services, a unit of Enron Corp. , to manage its supply of power and natural 
gas. 
Enron Energy Services has also signed deals with the North American arm of 
British glassmaker Pilkington Plc ; Owens-Illinois , one of the world's 
largest glass and plastics makers; and Quaker Oats Co. , a the maker of 
cereal and sports beverages. 
Enron Energy Services currently manages energy at more than 28,500 customer 
sites.

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


EPA's Next Challenge: What to Do About Lead Emissions (Update1)
2001-03-29 16:28 (New York)

EPA's Next Challenge: What to Do About Lead Emissions (Update1)

     (Adds cost estimates for compliance in ninth paragraph.)

     Washington, March 29 (Bloomberg) -- A coalition representing
mining, coal, chemical and electrical companies has asked U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman to
delay new rules aimed at reducing lead pollution.
     The rules, among dozens issued in the last days of President
Bill Clinton's administration, would require companies that use
more than 100 pounds of lead per year to publicly report any
emissions into the air, water and soil. The right-to-know rules
currently apply only to users of more than 10,000 pounds.
     Among the companies that may be affected by the rules are
Edison International, American Electric Power Co., Barrick Gold
Corp., Enron Corp., and FMC Corp.
     The lobbying effort on lead follows EPA 's decision last week
to block new regulations lowering the permissible level of arsenic
in water, President George W. Bush's decision to abandon the 1997
global warming treaty, and Bush's move to break a campaign promise
to regulate carbon dioxide emissions.
     Environmental groups have criticized those actions and say a
reversal of the lead rule would be another blow to public safety.
     ``We would react to this as a major assault on the public's
right to know,'' said Paul Orum, director of the Working Group on
Community Right-to-Know.
     Whitman has until April 17 to decide.

                          Lobbying Clout

     Seventy-three associations that represent oil refiners,
manufacturers, electrical power producers, mining companies,
battery makers, and lead smelters, said in a March 1 letter to
Whitman that implementation costs for the new lead rules would be
high for small companies and that there are no scientific studies
to prove they are necessary.
     EPA says the combined cost of compliance would be about $80
million the first year and $40 million per year thereafter.
     One of the groups, the IPC, which represents electronics
makers, said it has hired the law firm of King & Spalding to
prepare for a suit to block the new rules.
     The coalition can lay claim to some of Washington's biggest
lobbying operations. ``I don't think it's lost on anybody that
there are 73 associations concerned,'' said Jane Luxton of King &
Spalding.
     The group includes the National Association of Manufacturers,
which spent nearly $1.2 million on lobbying in the last six months
of 1999 alone, the last year for which statistics were available.
according to FECInfo, a group that tracks lobbying and campaign
donations.

                        Campaign Donations

     Members of the coalition gave hundreds of thousands to
Republicans during the 2000 elections.
     The Edison Electric Institute, for example, gave nearly
$194,000 through its political action committee and roughly
$505,000 in ``soft money,'' the unlimited and largely unregulated
cash that flows to political parties. More than half went to
Republicans.
     The Institute spent roughly $7.3 million on in-house and
contract lobbying in the last six months of 1999, hiring Baker &
Botts, the law firm of former Secretary of State James Baker and
other well-known Washington lobbying shops, according to FECInfo.
     The National Mining Association gave $159,00 through it's PAC
and more than $92,000 in soft money, with two thirds going to
Republicans. It spent about $690,000 on lobbying in the same
period.

                         Children at Risk

     A 1986 law gave the EPA authority to set reporting thresholds
for toxic chemicals that persist in the environment and in human
bodies. Lead persists in the environment, and is ingested through
water, and inhalation of paint fumes.
     Scientists have warned about exposure to lead for decades. A
study of 4,800 children conducted between 1988 and 1994 found that
even almost any lead can result in lower math and reading scores.
     ``There does not appear to be any safe level of lead in the
blood'' for children, said Bruce Lanphear, an associate professor
of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati
who wrote the report, which will be published next month by the
U.S. Public Health Service.
     Much of the research has focused on ingestion of lead paint
by children, the most common form of exposure. About 40 percent of
U.S. homes have lead paint, said Richard Levinson, associate
executive director of the American Public Health Association,
citing government statistics.
     Lead exposure from industrial emissions is less common but
more potent, scientists said. Lead dispersed in the air is
absorbed more by the body than that contained in paint chips,
Lanphear said.

                           Never Leaves

     The body retains lead, mostly in the bones, releasing it into
the bloodstream as a person ages and gets bone diseases such as
osteoporosis.
     ``As you get older, the lead levels get higher,'' said Robert
Wright, a toxicologist and epidemiologist at Harvard Medical
School.
     Recent studies have suggested a link between lead and
hypertension, kidney problems and lower IQ scores among adults,
Wright added.
     Asked about such studies, Jeff Miller, executive director of
the Lead Industries Association, which represents 79 lead-making
producers across the country, said: ``People have to realize that
lead poisoning in the United States today is not a major health
problem,'' Miller said. ``The question really is, `Is it causing a
problem when it's in the bones?' ''
     As governor of New Jersey, Whitman was criticized by
environmental groups for removing more than 1,000 chemicals from
the state's right-to-know list.

--Alex Canizares, with reporting by Jeff Bliss and Glen Justice in
Washington at (202) 624-1820 or acanizares@bloomberg.net/mmw





March 28, 2001, 8:55PM
Houston Chronicle
Enron team trying to keep ahead of MS 150 pack 
By JAYNE CUSTRED 
It used to bother Amelia Alder to ride her bike with large groups of 
cyclists. 
In fact, after finally recovering from a critical injury she received while 
riding in her first BP MS 150 in 1994, Alder had to have a private start, 
away from all the masses of cyclists, the next two times she participated in 
the Houston to Austin tour. 
Alder's motto these days, however, is the more the merrier. And Alder spends 
her time doing everything she can to make sure the group she's riding with is 
the largest of them all. 
Alder is the force behind the Enron team that participates each year in the 
MS 150. For the past three years, Enron has fielded not only the largest team 
in the Houston to Austin race, but also the largest team of any of the 130 MS 
150 bike tours taking place across the country. 
More importantly, Enron has also raised the most money of any team in any 
race in the nation. 
"Last year, Enron raised $525,000 for MS, which was the best in the country," 
Alder said. "We are really proud of that. We had 400 riders who really came 
through. At Enron, we see the MS 150 as a bike tour for fund-raisers rather 
than a bike trip for cyclists. And most of our cyclists respond to that." 
So far this year, with just shy of a month left before the MS 150, Alder said 
Enron already has 400 cyclists signed up to ride. 
"That's where we topped out last year," she said. "So we're expecting to see 
a lot more." 
Alder started the Enron team in 1996 with 10 people, just two years after her 
injury. It was during the 1994 race that Alder got hit from behind by another 
cyclist. She toppled from her bike and slammed into the ground with such 
force that she doesn't recall anything about the accident or immediately 
following. 
Alder had to have brain surgery and she almost didn't make it. During the 
next year, she would be back in the hospital three or four times for 
complications. 
"I was back in the hospital during the 1995 tour, and I felt so bad that I 
couldn't take part," she said. "So in 1996 I said, `I'm going to make it.' 
And I was just inspired to build a team." 
By 1997, the Enron team was up to 50 people and raised $50,000. 
"That was when the corporation decided to get on board and support us 
financially," Alder said. "That's when it really took off." 
In 1998, Enron moved into the top position in the team race and has stayed 
there ever since. With the large number of employees participating, Team 
Enron has become quite a production for Alder to organize. 
"Every rider gets a free team jersey and a free massage when we stop for the 
night in La Grange," she said. "We travel with a team of 30 masseurs and one 
doctor. We also have our own food and a large tent for our sleeping 
accommodations. Even our CEO, Jeff Skilling, rides with us and sleeps in the 
tent and hangs out with the team. He's the real champ of the team." 
To be eligible to participate in the BP MS 150, an individual must raise $200 
in sponsorships. But to be eligible to join the Enron team, a cyclist must 
raise double that. 
Alder said it takes approximately 50 volunteers to service the team during 
the ride. For a 12-member core team, organizing the ride is a year-round 
project. 
"This year it will be really competitive," Alder said. "There's a couple 
other corporations who are making a real push for that top spot. We hope we 
stay ahead this year. We're hoping to stay in first place. But for the sake 
of the MS Society, we hope the other corporations can do as well as Enron. 
"This is such a sentimental journey for me every year. I love Enron and I'm 
dedicated to the MS Society and this ride also represents a whole new era of 
my life. It's just a great event." 
Odds and ends -- The BP MS 150 Bike Giveaway is underway at area bike stores. 
Interested parties can stop in at any of the 26 official bike shops in the 
Houston and Austin areas and fill out an entry form. You don't have to be 
participating in the MS 150 to enter. 
At the close of business on April 9, each bike store will randomly draw one 
winner from each store. Additional bikes are also being given away in 
conjunction with promotional contests on FM and AM Clear Channel radio 
stations in Houston. 
Each winner will receive a gift certificate from the National Multiple 
Sclerosis Society in the amount of $325, good toward the purchase of a 
bicycle at an official BP MS 150 store. For information, call the MS Society 
at (713) 526-8967. ... 
Kudos to Gail Hurley for another great job running the Bluebonnet Express 
Metric Century, which took place March 18 in the Hempstead area. Hurley is 
retiring as race director after two years at the helm. This year's ride had 
more than 1,900 cyclists and no major problems.