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PartnerRe, a Bermuda headquartered reinsurer, has hired three Aquila staffers to build a weather trading operation in Greenwich, Conn., says market watchers. Calls to PartnerRe were not returned immediately.

* British Energy in increasing danger of being put into administration, according to U.K. government officials. The full extent of the company's debts, now emerging, has persuaded the government to contemplate allowing it to go under, but administration would carry significant costs for the state, the company has warned (Financial Times, 9/17)

British Energy is expected to select an advisor tomorrow to advise it on a potential restructuring plan and its dealings with the U.K. government about extending a financial lifeline.

BHP Billiton, one of the world's largest mining and natural resource concerns, has begun building a European power-trading desk and is reportedly considering acquiring thermal generation assets to back the effort. The Melbourne, Australia, headquartered company has hired Paul Adair, formerly a Singapore power trader at Enron, to spearhead the effort out of BHPs European trading floor in The Hague, the Netherlands. Adair declined to comment.

Standard & Poor's believes the erosion in merchant players' credit quality and deteriorating market fundamentals are set to pose significant refinancing risk for the $30-50 billion of U.S. construction loans and mini-perms that it estimates must be refinanced over the next three years.

Exelon has decided to exit weather derivatives, emissions, coal and congestion trading after designating these markets illiquid, according to market officials who have spoken to the company. As a result of the decision it has let go several staff, including Peter Frantz, head of weather derivatives in Kennett Square, Pa. Calls to Frantz were referred to Ben Armstrong, a company spokesman, who says Exelon Generation continues to actively trade the commodity markets. He was unable to comment on Frantz or the four markets the company is exiting. Frantz could not be reached.

Hartford, Conn.-based Northeast Utilities is on the lookout to acquire gas-fired generation assets in the New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland (PJM) power pool and New York state over the next 18 months. John Forsgren, vice chairman and cfo, says the company is scouring these markets to take advantage of depressed asset valuations.

DTE Energy has reportedly entered negotiations with NRG Energy to acquire the latter's majority stake in a 2.4 GW coal-fired power plant in Louisiana. A banker familiar with the matter says a deal could be hammered out within the next few days. While terms have not been sealed, the banker says NRG will likely receive some $1 billion for its 90% stake in Big Cajun II, in New Roads, La., one of four Pelican State thermal power plants it put on the block this spring along with other south-central generation assets (PFR, 6/3/02).

Duke Energy International has joined the long line of U.S. companies queuing to bail out of Latin America and has also lost interest in Mexico. Harvey Padewer, group president of Duke Energy's energy services division, says the company has nixed plans to build a Mexican business because of regulatory uncertainty in the region. Another Duke official says the company is looking to sell much of its Latin American generation portfolio, but declined to provide specifics. Padewer could not be reached for additional comment on Duke's plans for its LatAm assets.

Ameren plans to raise a further $160 million in equity financing over the next 12 months to help fund its $1.4 billion acquisition of CILCORP from AES, which is expected to close next March, according to Warren Baxter, cfo at the St. Louis energy concern. The utility holding company already has tapped the stock market once to fund the CILCORP purchase. It issued 8.05 million shares at $42 each on Sept. 6 in a deal led by Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.