Enron of U.S. to build power plant in Japan's Yamaguchi

In the wake of Japan's partial deregulation of power retailing in March, Enron has teamed up with Japanese leasing company Orix Corporation and others to form a joint venture, E Power Corporation, to give it a more solid footing in the Japanese power-retailing market.

E Power is reportedly pushing ahead with another plan to build a power plant in Omuta, Fukuoka Prefecture in southwestern Japan. According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, Enron and its Japanese partners will invest some 30 billion yen (280 million dollars) for building the power plant, which is expected to go into operation in 2007.

They plan to provide electricity to big users such as office buildings and department stores in the region at lower price than Japanese electric power companies. "We have been planning to build power plants throughout Japan. But we could not comment on this matter right now," said a spomesman at E Power in Tokyo.

Currently, there are nine electricity power companies in Japan. Each of them regionally monopolizes the market. In March this year, the government lifted ban to allow companies in other fields to provide electricity for big users. Four Japanese companies, including leading trading companies of Mitsubishi Corporation and Marubeni Corporation, have so far been preparing for the business.

(la/dpa)