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GENERAL CABLE TO OUTSOURCE ENERGY MANAGEMENT TO ENRON; GUARANTEED SAVINGS DELIVERED THROUGH UNIQUE PRICING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 30, 1998
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. and HOUSTON - General Cable Corporation announced today that it will outsource the energy management for its corporate headquarters and all of its manufacturing facilities and distribution centers across the United States to Enron Energy Services, a subsidiary of Enron Corp. Enron will guarantee savings through comprehensive energy management and efficiency projects. Enron also will provide electricity to General Cable's Sanger, Calif. data communications wire and cable manufacturing plant and will manage energy procurement at other locations.
"General Cable pursues operational excellence through a rigorous and robust process of continuous improvement in every aspect of our business," said Stephen Rabinowitz, chairman, president and CEO of General Cable Corporation. "This agreement with Enron will achieve productivity gains by reducing our energy usage and commodity costs without requiring the dedication of critical internal resources. Outsourcing energy management lets us focus our efforts on our core business - the development, manufacturing and marketing of wire and cable."
The terms of the multi-year agreement include the first commodity-to-production level pricing agreement for a retail energy customer. General Cable's estimated $120 million in energy expenditures over the term of the contract will be tied to the pounds of copper consumed, feet of cable produced and weather conditions experienced during the company's production process. Enron is able to provide the unique pricing due to its large portfolio of energy products and its disciplined risk management capabilities. Other services, some of which already are being performed by Enron after an energy audit at General Cable's facilities, include financing and construction of a substation and chillers and the installation of meters featuring Enron's two-way interactive system.
"General Cable now will be able to save on their energy costs without expending any capital," said Lou L. Pai, chairman and CEO of Enron Energy Services. "Extending innovative approaches to energy pricing and risk management to end-use customers like General Cable is a natural extension of the type of products Enron has been offering to our wholesale customers for several years."
"Utility deregulation and restructuring will provide unprecedented opportunities in the future and a competitive advantage for large energy consumers such as General Cable," said Steve Messinger, General Cable's vice president, risk management and energy project leader. "Enron's 'energy experts' will implement efficiency improvements at our facilities immediately and provide savings even before markets deregulate."
Enron is the world's leading integrated electricity and natural gas company. The company, which owns approximately $24 billion in energy related assets, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy facilities worldwide and delivers physical commodities and risk management and financial services to customers around the world. Enron's Internet address is www.enron.com, and the stock is traded under the ticker symbol, "ENE."
General Cable Corporation (NYSE: GCN), based in Highland Heights, Ky., is a leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the communications and electrical markets. Communications wire and cable transmits low voltage signals for voice data, video and control applications. Electrical wire and cable conducts electrical current for power and control applications. General Cable, which became a public company in May 1997, has 18 manufacturing facilities and five regional distribution centers and offers competitive strengths in such areas as breadth of product line, brand recognition, distribution and logistics, sales and service and operating efficiency. General Cable's Internet address is www.generalcable.com.
Click here to download this press release in Microsoft Word format.
For additional information please contact:
Gary Foster - Enron
713-853-4527
Lisa Lawson - General Cable
606-572-8052
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