Enron, Northwest Natural Gas Mutually Agree to Terminate Agreement to Sell Portland General Electric

Business Wire, May 16, 2002

Business/Energy Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2002

Enron Corp. (ENRNQ) and Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) announced today they are finalizing an agreement to mutually terminate their stock purchase agreement for Enron's wholly owned electric utility subsidiary, Portland General Electric (PGE). The termination will be subject to approval of the Bankruptcy Court overseeing Enron's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

"Although we had hoped to complete the sale to NW Natural, it was not possible to fully satisfy the terms of the pre-petition stock purchase agreement given issues associated with Enron's bankruptcy," said Stephen F. Cooper, Enron interim CEO and chief restructuring officer. "We appreciate NW Natural's consistent, professional effort in trying to complete this transaction and regret that current circumstances precluded it. We are continuing to explore alternatives for our investment in PGE."

"We also appreciate the Oregon Public Utility Commission's (OPUC) considerable on-going efforts to work with us to expedite the approval process and to subsequently hold their review in abeyance when it became clear that bankruptcy related issues might impact the agreement," Cooper said. "We look forward to working with the OPUC as we attempt to satisfy the needs of our creditors and PGE's customers. PGE's CEO Peggy Fowler and her local management team continue to do a wonderful job of running a solid, well-performing utility, to the benefit of its many stakeholders."

Enron delivers energy and other physical commodities and provides other energy services to customers around the world. Enron's Internet address is www.enron.com.