PPL Agrees to Sell Maine Hydroelectric Assets to ArcLight Capital Partners
July 01 2009 - 3:24PM
PR Newswire (US)
ALLENTOWN, Pa., July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPL Corporation
(NYSE: PPL) announced Wednesday (7/1) that its PPL Maine subsidiary
has signed a definitive agreement to sell the majority of PPL
Maine's hydroelectric generation business to Black Bear Hydro
Partners, LLC, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC, for
a total of approximately $95 million, subject to the receipt of
various state and federal regulatory approvals and consents. The
total purchase price includes certain contingent consideration that
would be realized upon completion of PPL's previously announced
sale, which is currently pending the receipt of certain state and
federal regulatory approvals, of three other hydroelectric
facilities to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. The sale to
the ArcLight affiliate involves five hydroelectric generating
facilities in Maine that produce a total of 23 megawatts of
electricity and are 100 percent owned by PPL; and PPL's 50 percent
ownership interest in a separate 13-megawatt hydroelectric project,
of which the other 50 percent is already owned by another ArcLight
affiliate. "As is the case with the pending sale of our Long Island
generation business, these have been good assets for us in Maine
but are not core to our concentrated generation positions in the
PJM Interconnection and in the Northwest," said William H. Spence,
PPL's executive vice president and chief operating officer. The
sale is expected to close later this year, following receipt of
necessary regulatory approvals and consents. Spence said the sale
is expected to result in a special after-tax gain in the range of
$0.07 to $0.09 per share, including the contingent consideration. A
portion of the gain would be recorded upon completion of the sale
to the ArcLight affiliate later this year. The remaining portion of
the gain would be recorded when PPL completes the sale of the other
dams to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust. The sale to the
ArcLight affiliate is expected to enhance PPL's cash flow position
and to be modestly accretive to the company's earnings following
the close of the transaction. PPL is not changing its current 2009
forecast of earnings from ongoing operations as a result of the
sale. The sale to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust originated
in June 2004, when PPL agreed with a coalition of environmental
groups, government agencies and the Penobscot Indian Nation on a
settlement agreement that would provide the trust with the option
to buy three of PPL's other hydroelectric dams. The trust exercised
this option in June 2008, and the sale is pending approval of
federal and state government agencies. The five 100 percent
PPL-owned facilities involved in the ArcLight agreement are the
Ellsworth, Medway, Milford, Orono and Stillwater hydroelectric
plants. ArcLight also will acquire from PPL the 50 percent interest
in the West Enfield project that it doesn't already own. PPL
Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls or owns more
than 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States,
sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about
4 million customers in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom. More
information is available at http://www.pplweb.com/. ArcLight
Capital Partners, LLC, is one of the world's leading energy
investment firms with more than $6.8 billion under management.
ArcLight's investment team has extensive energy investing
experience, industry relationships and asset level knowledge.
ArcLight is headquartered in Boston with offices in New York City,
London and Luxembourg. More information about ArcLight can be found
at http://www.arclightcapital.com/. Certain statements contained in
this news release, including statements with respect to future
earnings, cash flow and business disposition, are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws.
Although PPL Corporation believes that the expectations and
assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are
reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the
results discussed in the statements. The following are among the
important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and
prices for energy, capacity and fuel; competition; accounting
requirements; operating performance and costs of plants and other
facilities; political, regulatory or economic developments and
conditions; disposition proceeds; and regulatory approvals. Any
such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of
such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corporation's Form 10-K
and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. DATASOURCE: PPL Corporation CONTACT: News media, George
Biechler, +1-610-774-5997, or Financial analysts, Joseph P.
Bergstein, +1-610-774-5609, both of PPL Corporation Web Site:
http://www.pplweb.com/
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