A North-East councillor is calling on the Government to take action to protect the jobs of hundreds of power workers.

The appeal is on its way to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) amid reports that Innogy, the electricity company which last year took over Northern Electric's supply business, is seeking to buy Teesside Power Station.

The Grangetown plant was placed in the hands of administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers following the crash of the American power company, Enron.

Weekend newspaper reports claimed that Innogy had lodged a bid with PricewaterhouseCoopers to buy the power station.

The largest gas-fired power station in Europe, the plant employs nearly 300 people, who face months of uncertainty over the sale.

Now, Councillor David Walsh, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, is urging the DTI to be "proactive'' in the sale of the Grangetown plant.

He said: "The plant is a key one to the Teesside economy and uses the bulk load of gas coming ashore via the CATS pipeline, another key factor for the good health and future prospects of the Teesside chemical industry.

"The reports also indicate that there may be another bid from the in-house managers to take it out of administration," said Coun Walsh.

"The financing and management arrangements of the station are complicated and involve a number of regional power utilities, as well as Enron itself.

"It is for those reasons, and because of the sheer size of unravelling the Enron collapse in the US, that I am concerned that the sale process may be long and protracted.

"I would hope that the DTI would keep a careful eye on the disposal process for the power station, and also of Enron Teesside Operations Ltd, which manages the entire Wilton site.