Mirant Corp. said it completed a $201 million agreement with the government of Jamaica for an 80% operating stake in Jamaica Public Service Co (JPSCo). The government maintained a 20%interest in JPSCo. The transaction involves JPSCo.'s power production and transmission and distribution operations. Currently, JPSCo. owns 23 generating plants that produce 73%of its power requirements. Mirant anticipates adding 385 Mw of generating capacity.
Gas rates of WPS Resources Corp.'s Wisconsin Public Service's upper peninsula customers will rise about 32% effective Apr. 1. The current rate is 61.54�/therm. The new rate will be 83.04�/therm. For a typical residential customer who uses 1,000 therms/year of gas, the increase will amount to about $18/month.
The Spanish and Philippine governments signed a $48 million agreement with BP PLC to build a solar energy project to power 150 villages in the Phillipines. The first phase of the project will center on 35 Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in the Mindanao region of the Philippines. BP will use solar in around 70 villages to power. The second phase will serve an additional 44 ARCs. Because of the prohibitive cost of extending power lines and the difficulty of transporting generator fuel to remote, developing areas, international funding organizations are increasingly turning to solar power, BP said.
Calpine Corp. said it filed an application with California regulators to build a 1,100 mw power plant that could begin service by mid-2004, if approved. Power generated from the Altamont facility, to be located about 40 miles east of San Francisco, would interconnect with a federally-owned transmission facility that would move the electricity to customers in Alameda County, the central valley and other parts of northern California.
Transwestern Pipeline Co. (TW), a unit of Enron, said it planned to install new compression at four existing stations in Arizona to boost gas deliveries to California. The company said it filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand its system by 150 MMcfd of incremental firm capacity. TW's total capacity to the California border will increase to 1.24 bcfd. The $93 million project is expected to be in service by June 2002.
Texas-New Mexico Power Co. said will sell its lignite-fueled generating facility in Robertson County, Tex. The sale offering will comprise three asset packages. The first package consists of the 300 Mw generating facility, TNP One, and the 560-acre site surrounding it. The second consists of the 2,240 acres contiguous to TNP One.The third asset package is a combination of both the first and second asset packages.
PSEG Power, a unit of Newark, N.J.-based Public Service Enterprises Group Inc., reported it received air and water permits from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its planned 850 Mw Waterford, Ohio gas-fired power plant. The plant will be built in two phases with a 500 Mw single cycle unit scheduled to go on line during summer 2002 and a combined cycle operation planned for summer 2003.
Tucson Electric Power Co. (TEP), a unit of Unisource Energy Corp., signed a 5-year wholesale contract to supply 60 Mw of electricity to Phelps Dodge Energy Services, a unit of Phelps Dodge Corp., TEP reported. Under the contract TEP will supply power to Phelps Dodge except during peak demand periods from July-September. TEP said it expects the agreement to generate $30 million/year in revenues.
Maytag Corp. signed a 5-year management under which TXU Energy Services, a unit of TXU Corp., will procure or negotiate contracts for natural gas, electricity, coal, fuel oil, and propane, and provide consolidated billing and risk management for 14 Maytag manufacturing facilities. The deal also includes demand-side management assessments of energy equipment and analysis of potential energy efficiency improvements.
GE Power Systems, a unit of General Electric Co, said it acquired Programma Electric AB, Taby, Sweden, which supplies maintenance and testing of primary and secondary equipment in transmission and distribution substations. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Hong Kong's CLP Holdings said its wholly owned unit CLP Power China Ltd. has agreed to buy a 49% stake in a coal-fired power station in China's northwestern Shaanxi province from US utility TXU Corp for $18.35 million. The purchase of the stake in the newly commissioned 200 Mw coal-fired power station is pending approval from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. The remaining 51% state of the power station currently owned by Shenhua Group will be transferred to Beijing Guohua Electric Power Corp, a wholly-owned unit of the Shenhua Group, at the same time, it said.
An affiliate of Constellation Energy Group Inc. said it has begun construction of the 680 Mw Oleander power plant in Brevard County, Fla. The plant is scheduled to begin operation in the summer of 2002. Under terms of a 7-year power purchase agreement signed in 2000, 80% of the plant's output will be sold to Seminole Electric Cooperative of Tampa. The remainder of the plant's output will be sold on the wholesale power market.
Dominion Resources Inc. said it completed purchase of the Millstone nuclear power station, Waterford, Conn., from Northeast Utilities for $1.28 billion. Millstone includes two operating nuclear reactors, Unit 2, an 870 Mw pressurized water reactor, and Unit 3, a 1,150 Mw pressurized water reactor. Millstone Unit 1 is no longer in service and is being placed in a safe storage condition for eventual decommissioning. Dominion acquired 100% ownership of Units 1 and 2 and 93.47% of Unit 3, which consists of all of Northeast Utilities' 68% interest and 25.47% owned by other entities.
BC Gas Utility Ltd., a unit of BC Gas Inc., Vancouver, reported it is considering expanding the Southern Crossing Pipeline to Huntingdon, BC. The company said it will seek expressions of interest in April from parties looking to contract for transportation service. The Inland Pacific Connector project will be 260 km long, is estimated to cost $460 million (Can.), and could have an in-service date of as early as late 2003. Additional analysis will be needed to confirm the cost estimates and construction timetable, the company said.