Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) agreed to sell its
remaining Texas power-generating operations to a unit of Energy
Capital Partners II LP for $335 million.
The New Jersey utility and generation company earlier this month
had terminated the planned sale of the gas-fired Odessa plant in
west Texas to High Plains Diversified Energy Corp., a local
municipal utility group, at the same price.
The Odessa operation was one of two facilities put on the block
early this year; the sale of the other, known as Guadalupe, was
completed in the first quarter.
The latest deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Asset deals in the U.S. power sector have increased as companies
tackle continuing weakness in power prices and uncertainty over
environmental regulations. Some buyers are looking for exposure to
a possible rebound in regional power markets, while some sellers
want to shed exposure to weak and often volatile power prices due
to a prolonged slump in natural-gas prices. Wholesale electricity
prices in the U.S. are tied heavily to gas prices.
PSEG in May reported its first-quarter profit rose 7.1% as its
electric-and-gas business's profit increased.
Shares recently rose 0.4% to $31.71 premarket.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com