 |
ENRON CAPITAL & TRADE RESOURCES TO PURCHASE NEW JERSEY POWER PLANTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, October 30, 1998
HOUSTON - Enron Capital & Trade Resources (ECT), a wholly owned subsidiary of Enron Corp., announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement with Cogen Technologies to acquire its interests in three power plants for $1.1 billion and the assumption of approximately $350 million in non-recourse debt. ECT will make the acquisition through a special purpose entity in which ECT will own a 50 percent interest. The entity will invest up to $130 million in equity, with the balance of the purchase price funded by non-recourse borrowings provided by financial institutions. The parties anticipate closing the transaction in early 1999.
The three natural gas-fired plants, located in Bayonne, Camden and Linden, N.J., have an aggregate generating capacity of 1,037 megawatts. Designated as “qualifying facilities” under the Public Utilities Regulatory Practices Act of 1978, the plants deliver power and steam under contract to utility and industrial customers in New Jersey and New York City.
“This investment fits perfectly with ECT’s core strengths in energy finance and power marketing,” said Kenneth D. Rice, chairman and chief executive officer of ECT. “In addition to the long-term contracts, which allow us to arrange attractive financing and provide a stable return to our investors, the quality and locations of the plant sites, at key electric interconnect points in the Northeast grid, provide opportunities to expand capacity in one of the most energy-intensive and power-constrained regions in the United States.”
“Cogen Technologies has been a leader in the New York and New Jersey power markets with highly efficient, environmentally clean plants that have set the standard for the east coast,” said Robert C. McNair, chairman and chief executive officer of Cogen Technologies. “Enron’s leadership in the natural gas and electricity markets will complement the position of the assets in the regional power market.”
Cogen Technologies was founded by Robert C. McNair in 1984 and has become the largest privately owned cogeneration company in the United States, with interests in plants with generating capacity of 1,382 megawatts. Cogen Technologies will retain its interests in a 345 megawatt natural gas-fired cogeneration facility in Selkirk, N.Y., and a 50 megawatt coal-fired cogeneration facility in Morgantown, W.Va.
Enron Corp. is one of the world’s leading integrated natural gas and electricity companies. The company, which owns approximately $28 billion in assets, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy and water facilities worldwide and delivers physical commodities and financial services to customers around the world. Enron’s Internet address is www.enron.com, and the stock is traded under the symbol, “ENE.”
Click here to download this press release in Microsoft Word format.
For additional information please contact:
Mark Palmer
(713) 853-4738
|
