UPDATE 1-Enel approves bond issues for 5 bln euros

* Bonds to be issued before end 2013
* Enel to offer bonds to institutional, retail investors
* Enel has around 22 bln euros to cover maturities to 2014

(Adds detail, background)
MILAN, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Enel said on Tuesday
its board had approved the issue of bonds for up to 5 billion
euros ($6.42 billion), as Europe's most indebted utility moves
to extend the average maturity of its debt pile.
Italy's No. 1 power producer said in a statement the bonds,
to be issued before the end of 2013, could be placed with
institutional or retail investors.
Enel has said it is counting on cash flow generation and
disposals to slash its mountain of debt to 30 billion euros in
2016 from last year's 44.6 billion euros.
In August, Enel CFO Luigi Ferraris said the group had 22
billion euros of available liquidity to cover maturities to 2014
of 13-14 billion euros.
Europe's indebted utilities are facing higher costs to
refinance their maturities as the euro zone crisis cranks up the
cost of debt, especially in peripheral Europe.
Last Saturday Enel CEO Fulvio Conti said the group could
issue a retail bond in the first few months of 2013 after having
placed a 3 billion euro bond for retail investors last February.
In its Tuesday statement, Enel said its board had revoked a
previous decision in November last year to issue bonds up to 5
billion euros.
Under that programme Enel has already issued bonds to the
tune of around 4.6 billion euros.

($1 = 0.7785 euros)

(Reporting By Stephen Jewkes;Editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)