Xcel Energy acquires two Calpine power plants for $739 million
06 Apr 2010
US energy majors Xcel Energy and Calpine Corporation have allowed Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo), a subsidiary of the former, to buy two of Calpine's operating power plants near Denver for approximately $739 million.
The acquisition is based on an offer by Calpine into a competitive bid process that was part of Xcel Energy's 2007 Colorado Resources Plan, and was the least cost option among many bids for needed generating resources, the companies said in a joint statement.
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy is an electricity and natural gas company operating in eight western and mid-western states of the US. The company provides its services to around 5.4 million electricity and natural gas customers.
The two power plants to be bought currently provide electricity to the utility under power purchase agreements.
Based in Houston, Calpine Corporation is a major US power company with an aggregate capacity of around 25,000 megawatts (MW). The company is a leading producer of ''green energy'' from its geothermal resources in California, by converting naturally heated steam from the earth to electricity.
Calpine operates in 16 states in the US and Canada producing electricity from its 77 natural gas-based and geothermal power plants.
