Electric Power news briefs, September 27

Sept. 27, 2000
Southern Illinois Power Cooperative ... Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. ... Dynegy Inc. ... The North Carolina Municipal Power Agency ... Westcoast Energy Inc. ... Coastal Corp. ... PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara ... Duke/Fluor Daniel ... Energy Cooperative of New York Inc. ... Waste Management Inc. ... Unitil/Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Co. ... Endesa SA ... Iberdrola Energ�SA ... OGE Energy Corp. ... Enogex Inc. ... American Electric Power Co. Inc. ... Louisville Gas & Electric Co.


Southern Illinois Power Cooperative (SIPC) has awarded Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. a $50 million contract to repower an SIPC power plant near Marion, Ill, Foster Wheeler reported. The contract calls for Foster Wheeler to provide a 120 Mw circulating fluidized-bed (CFB) boiler designed to burn bituminous coal fines. The coal fines are a byproduct of modern coal mine wash plants, which over the years have stored this waste material in piles and ponds, representing an environmental concern. This project is one of the first repowering projects in the US designed to fire 100% waste coal. Construction is expected to begin in July 2001, with commercial operation scheduled for February 2003.

Dynegy Inc. said it filed a $1 billion universal shelf registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, Dynegy Holdings Inc., a Dynegy subsidiary, has filed a universal shelf registration statement in the amount of $750 million. Dynegy said the funds will be used to support strategic growth initiatives. The registration statements have not yet become effective, the company said.

The North Carolina Municipal Power Agency No. 1 (NCMPA1), representing 19 western North Carolina cities and towns that own and operate electric systems, said it has contracted with Entergy Power Marketing, a unit of Entergy Corp., to market and schedule surplus energy and purchase extra power for the cities and towns. To get the most value from generation assets in today's market takes a large organization with expertise in load forecasting, buying, and scheduling transmission service, hedging risks, marketing, and trading, said Jesse Tilton, CEO of ElectriCities, a Raleigh trade organization representing NCMPA1.

Westcoast Energy Inc., Vancouver, and the Coastal Corp., Houston, said they have agreed to terminate their Engage Energy joint venture and divide the operations into separate entities to be owned and operated independently by each company. Under the proposed restructuring, Westcoast will retain the Engage Canadian business entity, along with certain US natural gas and power activities. Westcoast will also retain the right to use the Engage Energy name and will conduct business from offices in Calgary, Alta. and various U.S locations. Coastal will retain Engage's US business entity, with Houston as headquarters. Coastal and El Paso Energy Corp .reported Jan. 18 a definitive agreement to merge Coastal with a subsidiary of El Paso, subject to various approvals.

PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara has selected the Duke/Fluor Daniel (D/FD) affiliate, PT Nusantara Power Services (PTNPS), a joint venture between D/FD and Catur Yasa, to provide operations, maintenance, and management services for the 160 Mw Batu Hijau generating facility on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, Duke/Fluor Daniel reported. A company owned by Newmont Mining Corp., Denver, Col., Sumitomo Corp., Tokyo, and an Indonesian company, PTNNT is mining and milling the estimated 11.2 billion lb of copper and 14.7 million oz of gold from the Batu Hijau porphyry deposit. Duke/Fluor Daniel is a joint venture of Duke Energy Corp. and Fluor Corp.

Energy Cooperative of New York Inc. (ECNY) has signed an agreement to purchase 2.5 Mw of "green" power from Waste Management Inc.'s Monroe Livingston power plant, Scottsville, NY, Waste Management reported. The ``green power'' source is landfill gas from Waste Management's nearby Monroe Livingston landfill. The landfill gas is used to fuel engines, which, in turn, generate electricity. Waste Management currently supplies landfill gas to 38 gas-to-electricity projects and to 35 medium btu gas projects in 21 states.

Unitil Corp. said its Unitil/Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Co. subsidiary has refiled for a gas rate increase with the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Telecommunications. The original filing was made Sept. 15 and did not fully reflect rising gas prices, the company said. It said the bill for a typical residential heating customer using 146 therms/month of gas will rise $30.07 or 24.5% over last winter's rates. Similar impacts will be seen for commercial and industrial customers, it said.

Spain's Endesa SA reported it has held talks with Iberdrola Energ�SA with the aim of studying a possible friendly merger. Discussions have included developing a business plan and what asset divestiture would be necessary to comply with Spanish antitrust laws. Still, neither a definitive project has been drafted nor any agreement has been reached, Endesa said, and no documents have been submitted to the companies' corporate governments for their approval nor has any document been submitted to any of the relevant authorities. Endesa said it could give no assurances any corporate action will result from the conversations being held.

OGE Energy Corp. reported its wholly owned subsidiary, Enogex Inc., will expand its Harrah gas processing plant in eastern Oklahoma County, doubling the plant's capacity to 38 MMcfd. The expansion will be accomplished in large part by the relocation of an idle cryogenic processing plant from Burns Flat, Okla. The expansion at Harrah is expected to be complete and in service by January 2001.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. said the Cook nuclear plant Unit 2 has operated reliably and safely since its June 25 restart, while Cook Unit 1 remains on schedule for restart in the first quarter of 2001. However, due to good progress in the restart process, AEP is asking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to prepare for the possibility of an earlier restart. AEP shut down both units in September 1997 because of questions raised about operability of safety systems. Combined generating capacity for the two units is 2,110 Mw.

Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E), a subsidiary of LG&E Energy Corp. said it received approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission today for a 7.26% or $20.2 million increase in natural gas rates, effective immediately. The company had sought an increase of approximately $27.9 million.