All talk, no action

Cancelled power plant auctions and the complexities of asset debt structures are bad news for the boutiques set up to acquire power assets. The boutiques talk a good business plan – but execution may prove troublesome, as Paul Lyon discovers

Paul Evanson, who joined Maryland-based Allegheny Energy as chief executive inJune, is rumoured to have cancelled the troubled utility’s auction of severalpower plants. He wants to focus instead on issuing debt and equity to boost liquidity.

Evanson is said to have withdrawn the sale of the Armstrong, Hatfield and Mitchellplants because he believes an asset sale would probably provide only short-termrelief from the company’s financial problems.

This episode demonstrates a growing belief that