|
|
|
Power Play
Wisvest unloads New Haven, Bridgeport harbor stations
|
Business New Haven
6/24/2002
By: BNH
|
The Wisconsin-based Wisvest is quitting the New England energy market following an agreement in principle to sell power plants on New Haven and Bridgeport harbors to New Jersey-based PSEG Power.
A spokesperson for Wisvest-Connecticut LLC announced June 10 that the deal would yield a “slight loss” for the company. Sale of the two power complexes, with combined capacities to generate up to 1,000 megawatts of electricity, could total as much as $280 million.
A spokesman for PSEG said that with pending approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the sale could be completed some time this autumn.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he would monitor the sale's review before the FERC, but it appears to have no antitrust implications because the sale would represent PSEG's first foray into the New England energy market.
Blumenthal also said he would scrutinize PSEG's commitment to new Connecticut emission standards targeting the state's six oldest, most-polluting plants, including Wisvest's Bridgeport and New Haven units.
“This gives us an opportunity to enter the New England market,” said Neal Brown, manager of external affairs for PSEG Power, a subsidiary of the Newark-based Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., a major utility with $25 billion in assets.
“Our view is to operate these plants for the long term,” Brown said. “We view our target market as the Northeast quadrant.”
Brown said that the deal includes $220 million, plus at least $20 million in adjustments related to inventories and other costs.
But Rick White, Wisvest spokesman, estimated that the deal would be closer to $280 million for his company, including tax advantages.
Wisvest-Connecticut bought the two harbor generating complexes in 1999 for $272 million from the United Illuminating Co. as part of a statewide restructuring of the energy industry approved by the General Assembly in 1998.
But within two years Wisvest attempted to sell the power plants to NRG Energy Inc., which owns most of the power generators in the state. The deal was rejected by FERC, which ruled that NRG would thereby control too great a portion of the state's market.
Brown said that PSEG is very aware of the state's emissions regulations, which were strengthened this year by the General Assembly and Gov. John G. Rowland. “We expect no problems in meeting it,” Brown said in a published report.
The New Haven and Bridgeport harbor complexes, which are coal and oil-fired, would add 1,019 megawatts to PSEG's current 12,000-megawatt capability in New Jersey.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
