Calpine in bankruptcy protection

Calpine wants to keep running

US power company Calpine has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest utility to suffer problems in the aftermath of the Enron scandal.

The Chapter 11 filing comes after Calpine was ordered to repay $312m (£178m; 262m euros) to creditors who challenged its use of funds to buy gas.

Calpine, which has 3,000 staff and runs power plants in the US, Canada and Mexico, has debts of more than $22bn.

Analysts rate the bankruptcy as one of the 10 biggest in US history.

'Reliable supplies'

According to the papers filed in the Southern District of New York, Calpine has listed assets of $26.6bn.

The firm said that while many of its subsidiaries had also filed for bankruptcy, it would look to keep operating as normally as possible.

"Our plan calls for power plants to remain available for operation to provide reliable supplies of electricity," Chief Executive Robert May said.

Analysts said they expect the company to emerge from Chapter 11 protection in a number of years.

Chapter 11 gives a company protection from its creditors and allows it to keep trading as it tries to put its finances and a rescue plan in order.