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Enron moves executives' families out of India

Families of executives overseeing US energy giant Enron Corp's troubled Dabhol Power Company project in India are leaving the country, possibly signalling an intention to terminate the nearly complete $2.9 billion project, an english daily said on Wednesday.

The daily said the children of Enron executives had been pulled out of the American School in Bombay as their families were being relocated to Singapore.

It also said security around the expatriate executives had been tightened, and personal bodyguards assigned to senior executives.

But the unsourced report said it was not clear if the decision to move the families out of Bombay was made by Houston-based Enron, or reflected personal decisions made by the executives themselves.

A spokesman for Dabhol Power Co, the operator of the nearly complete 2,184 MW power plant south of Bombay, told Reuters it was company policy not to comment on administrative and personnel matters.

The newspaper said security had been tightened because "there is likely to be a tremendous backlash against representatives of the US-based energy company" if the project was terminated.

It said "more than 15,000 jobs in Dabhol will be lost if a decision is taken either to terminate the project or stop construction on Phase II".

The project is mired in controversy after the Maharashtra State Electricity Board reneged on its commitment to buy all the power produced by the giant plant, saying it is too costly.

MSEB has also defaulted on monthly payments to DPC for the electricity it has taken, forcing the company's board last month to authorise the management to terminate the contract.

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