FOR ECGD COVER AND COST-ESCALATION INSURANCE, BUT PRICES FOR THESE WERE NOT REVEALED UNTIL IMMEDIATELY BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CONLCLUDED. 5 MR MACDONALD WAS EMPHATIC THAT IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO LET CLP HAVE ANY PRICE INFORMATION UNTIL THE LAST POSSIBLE MOMENT: IE AT LEAST AFTER THE LETTER OF INTENT HAD BEEN SIGNED. ONE JUSTIFICAT N FOR THIS DELAY THAT MIGHT BE ARGUED WAS THE DIFFICULTY OF APPORT- IONING THE CEGB SERVICES UNTIL ALL THE DETAILS OF CLP'S REQUIREMENTS WERE KNOWN. HE WARNED THAT THERE WERE THOSE IN CLP WHO WOULD BE KEEN TO IMPRESS THEIR CHAIRMAN AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN BY BEING SEEN TO SAVE CLP EVEN MINOR SUMS: ON THE OTHER HAND THOSE WHO FAVOURED THE UK WITHIN THE CLP AND ELECTROWATT MIGHT FIND IT AN ADVANTAGE IF A DETAILED BREAKDOWN HAD NOT BEEN PROVIDED. HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT ELECTROWATT WOULD NOT NEED OUR PRICE INFORMATION TO CARRY OUT THEIR FINANCIAL EVALUATION AND THAT CLP WOULD ABSORB A GREAT DEAL OF UNHELPFULNESS FROM THE DOI TEAM BEFORE ACTUALLY REJECTING
THE BID.
ONCE A LETTER OF INTENT HAD BEEN SIGNED AND PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED CLP WOULD HAVE ITS REPUTATION AT STAKE AND WE COULD THEN REVEAL MORE PRICE DETAILS - ALBEIT AS SLOWLY AS POSSIBLE.
ENDS.
5. WE SHALL SEND A CONSIDERED RESPONSE, FOR YOU TO PASS TO CLP, AFTER SEEING STONES. WE SHALL TRY FOR 150100Z, BUT THIS MAY NOT BE POSSIBLE (WE RETURN FROM HARROGATE LATE ON 14TH).
DTI
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