An Australian court ruling recently upheld some $625 million in electricity contracts between a retailer and generator, averting a blow to the nation`s power market while re-igniting debate on the risks of state utility ownership. The courts ruled that a New South Wales state-owned generator, Pacific Power, could not get out of 11 hedge contracts it had tried to invalidate with retailer Powercor. Financial market experts said the case went to the heart of standard Australian dealing practices that involve contractual arrangements secured over the phone and backed up by documentation. Others felt the ruling was an important landmark in the development of the national electricity market as the major Australian markets approach full retail contestability in January 2001.
