Bankrupt Enron Corp. has had 25 parties showing initial interest in Portland General Electric (PGE), the Oregon-based utility that the Houston energy firm purchased in 1998, and the company expects to make a decision at year-end or early in January on whether to sell or keep PGE as part of a newly created energy company after Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy proceedings, according to a presentation Wednesday to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

The ultimate disposition of the utility must be part of a bankruptcy court-sanctioned auction and/or reorganization plan, but it also must be okayed by the Oregon PUC, a spokesperson for the regulators said.

“Enron noted for the PUC that the creditors’ committee fully understands and supports the state regulatory processes and the fact that it likely would take nine to 12 months to complete the approval of a sale or disposition of the utility,” a PGE spokesperson said.

While the list of interested parties at this point is confidential — they are firms requesting access to PGE’s financial data — Enron officials said Wednesday that the first-round of the due diligence on a possible sale is under way. Enron will make presentations to interested buyers in the weeks ahead, and it expects to accept final bids in the bankruptcy court by late November or early December, according to Enron spokesperson Mark Palmer.

Since it must ultimately okay and structure the terms of any sale, the Oregon PUC was very interested in the presentation it received from both Enron and PGE senior officials Wednesday, said Bob Valdez, the regulators’ Portland-based spokesperson. The commission will be kept informed of the timing and bidders as the sales process moves along.

Perhaps stirred by a series of public sector proposals to obtain all or parts of PGE and turn them into public sector utilities, Enron and utility officials stressed to the state regulators that they oppose any “condemnation of assets.” Most recently, the Portland City Council has indicated an interest in making a bid, but it would be limited to part of the utility’s assets, and its officials Wednesday stressed that the company’s maximum value will only be realized if the utility is kept intact.

Both the city and state officials are concerned about who might ultimately buy and operate PGE, which has been run somewhat autonomously since Enron bought it. Local management has basically remained in place, and the Oregon PUC put a number of restrictions on Enron in approving its purchase of the utility.

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