Utility files lawsuit

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Monday, Nov. 22, 2004 | 10:58 a.m.

Nevada Power Co. of Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against a series of investment banks for assisting the notorious Enron Corp. in disguising its crumbling financial condition.

The lawsuit includes as defendants Citigroup Inc., Salomon Smith Barney Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Credit Suisse First Boston, Barclays Bank Plc., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Toronto Dominion.

The banks participated in transactions designed to "conceal liabilities or artificially inflate revenues or Enron's reported financial condition," said the lawsuit which was filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas late Friday.

If Nevada Power, and its sister utility Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno, had known the true condition of Enron they would not have entered into power deals with the Houston company, the lawsuit said.

A bankruptcy court ruled that Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power owe Enron more than $300 million for deals signed during the Western energy crisis and later cancelled. An appeals court ruled that the deal must be reviewed.