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The Power Marketing Associationheld its annual Spring power trading and sales conference amid the faux-medieval splendor of the Excalibur Hotel & Casinoin Las Vegas April 17-18. Some 100 attendees and speakers, made up primarily of power company officials, focused on the post-Enron world and dealing with the capital crunch for IPPs. Senior Reporter Peter Thompsonfiled the following reports:

Merrillville, Ind.-based NiSource is planning to issue equity as part of an on-going effort to cut its leverage. The offering will likely take place next spring and will come after the company has refinanced part of its bank debt in the long-term capital market, according to spokesman Bill Keegan. He was unable to put a figure on the size of the stock issuance, but a recent research note from Lehman Brothers suggests the deal could be in the $500 million to $1 billion range.

ANZ Investment Bank has established a three-strong team in London focused on green-energy financing in Europe and North America. Geoff Knox, head of power, mining and infrastructure finance in London, says ANZ is building the practice to finance the rapid growth of the renewable power sector, especially wind power. He calculates that the industry will need at least $1 billion of financing every year to fund the development of new projects. Given the lack of activity elsewhere in the European power project finance sector, this is the place to be, he notes. Knox believes that ANZ is the first top-tier project finance bank in Europe to set up a dedicated green energy debt financing unit.

Dearborn, Mich.-based CMS Energy has decided to delay the sale of its Latin America assets until market conditions improve and interest from potential buyers in the region returns, says a New York banker. J.P. Morgan was hired late last year to shop the assets. Bankers at Morgan and Kelly Farr, a spokesman at CMS, did not return calls.

* This was the conference's third year in the city Bugsy built. Hotel availability and better transport links make for less hassle than the swankier confines of Scottsdale, Ariz., which hosted the event for the previous five years, according to organizers. But having to pass through the clouds of cigarette smoke hanging over the slot jockeys in the no frills Excalibur casino took its toll on some attendees. "These people make me sick," confided one, referring to the sweat-pant wearing hoards.

Duke Capital, a subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, tapped the bond market twice recently with a $100 million offering of two-year floating-rate notes and a $250 million retail offering of 20-year fixed-coupon bonds. David Hauser, senior v.p. and treasurer, says the energy concern decided to come to market now to take advantage of the favorable interest-rate environment and investor demand for Duke paper. Duke Capital is the holding company for Duke's unregulated businesses.

Bonds Issue Date Maturity Issuer Country Amount ($ mil) Price Type of Security Coupon (%) Spread to Treasury Moody S&P Bookrunner(s) 04/18/02 04/29/05 Iberdrola International Netherlands 89.1 100 Float Rate Nts Floats - A1 A+ DrKW 04/18/02 10/26/12 RWE Finance Netherlands 1335.8 99.486 Fxd/Straight Bd 6.125 100 A1 AA- BNP/WESTLB/SSB 04/18/02 06/03/13 RWE Finance Netherlands 1084.1 99.542 Fxd/Straight Bd 6.375 105 A1 AA- HSBC/JPM 04/18/02 06/03/30 RWE Finance Netherlands 1156.3 98.819 Fxd/Straight Bd 6.25 115 A1 AA- HSBC/JPM 04/18/02 10/26/07 RWE Finance Netherlands 2226.3 99.505 Fxd/Straight Bd 5.5 82 A1 AA- BNP/WESTLB/SSB 04/19/02 04/19/05 Iljin Electric South Korea 15.2 93.16 Fxd/Straight Bd 6 - - - GOODMORNING-SEC 04/23/02 05/07/09 Kaerntner Elektrizitaets Austria 133.4 100.821 Fxd/Straight Bd 5.5 61 NA AA- HYPVER 04/24/02 05/08/12 CLP Power Hong Kong Financing Hong Kong 300 99.397 Fxd/Straight Bd 6.25 105 A3 A+ HSBC/MORGAN STANLEY/SSB 04/24/02 04/30/32 Duquesne Light U.S. 100 100 PINES 6.7 101 Aaa AAA SSB 04/24/02 04/24/04 Edelnor Peru 5.6 Market Bonds 6.3 - - - CONTINENTAL/CITICORP M&A Date Announced Date Effective Target Name Target Advisors Target Country Acquiror Name Acquiror Advisors Acquiror Country Deal Value ($mil) 04/18/02 04/18/02 Central Nevada Utilities - U.S. Utilities Inc - U.S. 5.5 04/19/02 - Italmetano Citta Lazard Italy Italcogim - Italy - 04/19/02 04/19/02 Poznanskie Wodociagi - Poland RWE Umwelt - Germany 7.93 04/19/02 - Toledo Power - Philippines Mirant Toledo Holdings - Philippines - 04/22/02 - Lattice Group JP Morgan/Cazenove/Hoare Govett U.K. National Grid Group NM Rothschild /CSFB/Merrill Lynch U.K. 18439.947 04/23/02 - Gestion de Aguas de Aragon - Spain Aguas de Barcelona - Spain - 04/23/02 - Interagua(Aguas de Barcelona) - Spain Aguas de Barcelona - Spain 22.879 04/23/02 04/23/02 Planergy International - U.K. Chevron Energy Solutions - U.S. - Source: Thomson Financial Securities Data Company. For more information, call Rich Peterson at (973) 645-9701

NRG Energy, the Minneapolis-based independent power producer, plans to tap the bank debt market for about $700 million in long-term non-recourse financing later this year to refinance the construction costs of two generation projects in Brazil. A finance official at NRG in Brazil says the plants, TermoRio (1,040 MW) in Rio de Janeiro and Itiquira Energetica (160 MW) in Rondonopolis, were originally financed with equity, but the IPP is now looking to leverage these investments.

Raleigh, N.C.-based Progress Energy recently tapped the bond market for $800 million to pay down a commercial paper program that had swelled following its $345 million acquisition of two power plant projects in Georgia. Tom Sullivan, treasurer, says the company had planned to issue longer-maturity debt to reduce the c.p. program, but the February acquisition of the LG&E Energy assets was also a driver. He notes that aside from the ticket price, Progress also is funding construction of one of the facilities.

Following is a directory of ongoing generation asset sales. The accuracy of the information, which is derived from many sources, is deemed reliable but cannot be guaranteed. To report new auctions or changes in the status of a sale, please call Will Ainger, managing editor, at (44-20) 7303-1735 or e-mail wainger@euromoneyplc.com. Seller Plants Location MW Plant Type Advisor Status American Electric Power/ Northeastern units 3 & 4 Okla. 300 Coal N/A Reviewing sale strategies. Central and Southwest Corp. Lon C. Hill Texas 546 Gas Nueces Bay Texas 559 Gas Ennis S. Joslin Texas 249 Gas ADWEA Um Al Nar Abu Dhabi 1,100 Gas & Water Desalination CSFB Expected to send out RFPs in December. Central Hudson Gas & Electric Syracuse N.Y. 100 CHP Navigant Final bids due by late Nov. Beaver falls N.Y. 100 CHP Niagara falls N.Y. 52 Coal CMS Energy Loy Yang Melbourne, Australia 2,000 Coal Not chosen Announced intention to sell. Ensenada Argentina 128 Gas-fired J.P. Morgan CT Mendoza Argentina 520 Gas-fired J.P. Morgan El Chocon Argentina 1,320 Hydroelectric J.P. Morgan DPL All plants Ohio 3,500 N/A Morgan Stanley Enel Eurogen Italy 7,008 Various - Having sold Elettrogen it will sell one of two Interpower Italy 2,611 - other generation portfolios shortly. Enron Bahia Las Minas Panama 355 Various PwC Intention to sell. Pueto Quetzal Guatemala 110 (administrator) PQPLLC Guatemala 124 Margarita II Nicaragua 70.5 EcoElectrica Puerto Rico 507 Puerto Plata Dominican Republic 185 Cuiaba Brazil 480 Nowa Sarzyna Poland 116 Sarlux Italy 551 Trakya Turkey 478 Chengdu Cogen China 284 Enron Northern Marianas Guam 80 PwC Intention to sell. Bantagas Philippines 110 (administrator) Dabhol India 2,184 Subic Bay Philippines 116 Teesside U.K. 1875 Wilton U.K. 154 IVO Energy Brigg U.K. 240 Gas BNP Paribas Preparing information memo. South Humber U.K. 1,240 Gas Grangemouth*** U.K. 130 Gas Edenderry Ireland 120 Peat Independent Energy Various U.K. 130 N/A KPMG KPMG is handling the asset sale after Independent Energy went into receivership. MARCOR Remediation - Calif. 5.7 Wood - - (A broker acting for an undisclosed seller) Niagara Mohawk Power Nine Mile Point 1 N.Y. 1,614 Nuclear N/A Awaiting bids. Nine Mile Point 2 N.Y. 1,140 Nuclear N/A North Atlantic Energy Seabrook* N.H. 408 Nuclear N/A Must be sold by Dec. 2003. Oman (Ministry of Housing, Rusail Oman 730 Gas - - Electricity & Water) Ghubratt Oman 507 CHP Wad Al-Jazzi Oman 350 Gas Ontario Power Generation Lennox Ontario 2,140 Oil, gas Merrill Lynch & Expects to sell Lennox and Lakeview shortly. Lakeview Ontario 1,140 Coal Scotia Capital- Atikokan Ontario 215 Coal Thunder Bay Ontario 310 Coal Mississagi River Ontario 490 Hydro Pacific Gas & Electric 68 Plants Calif. 3,800 Hydro Morgan Stanley Awaiting PUC approval. Expect sale to close shortly. Public Service Co. of New Merrimack N.H. 475.8 Coal J.P. Morgan Subject to approval for rate settlement by PUC Hampshire (Northeast Utilities) Newington N.H. 415 Oil/gas and state legislature. Schiller N.H. 146.6 Oil/gas Lost Nation N.H. 19.1 Diesel Merrimack N.H. 42.2 Diesel Public Service Co. of New Schiller N.H. 18 Diesel Subject to approval for rate settlement by PUC Hampshire (Northeast Utilities) White Lake N.H. 23 Diesel and state legislature. Amoskeag N.H. 17.5 Hydro Ayers Island N.H. 9.1 Hydro Canaan Vt. 1.1 Hydro Eastman Falls N.H. 6.5 Hydro Garvins Falls N.H. 12.1 Hydro Gorham N.H. 2.1 Hydro Hoolsett N.H. 1.95 Hydro Jackman N.H. 3.55 Hydro Smith N.H. 14.2 Hydro Reliant Resources Reliant Energy Power Netherlands 3,476 Mixture Merrill Lynch Is looking to seal sale imminently Generation Benelux Argener Argentina 160 CHP - - ScottishPower Hazelwood Victoria, Australia 1,600 Coal CSFB Final bids due shortly. TXU Lake Creek Texas 323 Gas Merrill Lynch Reviewing sales strategy. Tradinghouse Texas 1,340 River Crest Texas 110 Mountain Creek Texas 893 Parkdale Texas 327 North Main Texas 123 Monticello Texas 1,900 Coal Merrill Lynch Is looking to sell an undisclosed number of its Martin Lake Texas 2,250 coal assets. Big Brown Texas 1,150 Sandow Texas 545 Wisconsin Energy Bridgeport Conn. 1,100 (combined) - - Has put up for sale following collaspe New Haven Conn. 1,100 (combined) of NRG deal. * North Atlantic Energy owns 34.8% of Seabrook *** Fortum owns 75% of Grangemouth. Mitsubishi owns the remainder.