Enron 'cashed in on power crisis'

CBS says Enron attempted to stop the release of the tapes

Collapsed energy trader Enron is at the centre of allegations that it tried to manipulate electricity prices during California's energy crisis.

CBS News has aired tapes of Enron employees apparently discussing plans to shut down power plants as blackouts pushed local energy prices higher.

California was hit by a series of power cuts in 2000-2001 following the deregulation the energy industry.

CBS says the tapes are of workers from Enron's West Coast trading desk.

'Shut her down'

During one recording, an Enron employee is heard saying: "If you took down the steamer, how long would it take to get it back up?"

A second Enron worker says: "Oh, it' s not something you want to just be turning on and off every hour. Let's put it that way."

The first employee replies: "Well, why don't you just go ahead and shut her down?"

CBS said the tapes were obtained from the US Justice Department by officials from the Snohomish Public Utility District, close to Seattle.

'Money back'

The utility is currently trying to retrieve money from Enron, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after revealing it had been inflating its profits.

In another section of the tapes, an Enron employee says: "They're taking all the money back from you guys? All the money you guys stole from those poor grandmothers in California?"

"Now she wants her money back for all the power you've charged right up, jammed right up her arse for $250 a megawatt hour."

The tapes also reveal Enron workers discussing Mr Lay's prospects under a Bush administration

"I'd love to see Ken Lay Secretary of Energy," one worker says.

CBS said the Justice Department and Enron had both tried to prevent the release of these tapes.

Lawyers for Enron told the network that the tapes - which included many expletives - simply proved "that people at Enron sometimes talked like Barnacle Bill the Sailor".