NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Entergy Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Entergy Louisiana, LLC (ELL), has signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) to acquire Unit 2 of the Acadia Energy Center, a 580-megawatt generating unit located near Eunice, Louisiana, from Acadia Power Partners, LLC (APP), an independent power producer.
"The acquisition of a modern, highly efficient load-following generation resource such as Acadia Unit 2 will help meet the electricity needs of our utilities' customers while lowering fuel costs," said J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "This transaction is well-aligned with our disciplined, market point of view for capital deployment. In addition, the facility's location in southern Louisiana has substantial reliability benefits for the system and our customers."
The Acadia Energy Center, which entered commercial service in 2002, consists of two Siemens-Westinghouse combined-cycle gas-fired generating units, each nominally rated at 580 MW. ELL proposes to acquire 100 percent of Acadia Unit 2 and a 50 percent ownership interest in the facility's common assets. In a separate transaction entered into earlier this year, Cleco Power is acquiring Acadia Unit 1 and the other 50 percent interest in the facility's common assets. Upon closing the transaction, Cleco Power will serve as operator for the entire facility. ELL has committed to sell one third of the output of Unit 2 to Entergy Gulf States Louisiana in accordance with terms and conditions detailed under the existing System Agreement.
ELL's purchase is contingent upon, among other things, obtaining necessary approvals, including full cost recovery, from various federal and state regulatory and permitting agencies and the filing of notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law. Closing is expected to occur in late 2010 or early 2011. ELL and APP also have entered into a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 100 percent of the output of Acadia Unit 2 that will commence on May 1, 2010 and is set to expire at the closing of the acquisition transaction.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13 billion and approximately 14,700 employees.
Entergy's online address is http://www.entergy.com/
In this news release, and from time to time, Entergy Corporation makes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, Entergy undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including (a) those factors discussed in (i) Entergy's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, (ii) Entergy's Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2009, and (iii) Entergy's other reports and filings made under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, (b) the uncertainties associated with efforts to remediate the effects of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and the January 2009 Arkansas ice storm and recovery of costs associated with restoration, and (c) the following transactional factors (in addition to others described elsewhere in this news release and in subsequent securities filings): (i) risks inherent in the contemplated spin-off, joint venture and related transactions (including the level of debt to be incurred by Enexus Energy Corporation and the terms and costs related thereto), (ii) legislative and regulatory actions, and (iii) conditions of the capital markets during the periods covered by the forward-looking statements. Entergy cannot provide any assurances that the spin-off or any of the proposed transactions related thereto will be completed, nor can it give assurances as to the terms on which such transactions will be consummated. The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals and the final approval by the Board of Directors of Entergy.
Entergy Corporation
CONTACT: News Media, Chanel Lagarde, +1-504-840-2599,
clagar1@entergy.com, or Investor Relations, Michele Lopiccolo,
+1-504-576-4879, mlopicc@entergy.com, both of Entergy Corporation
Web Site: http://www.entergy.com/
