American Electric Power (AEP) last Thursday said that its Texas Central Co. (TCC) subsidiary completed the sale of 3,813 MW of generating assets, including eight natural gas plants, one coal-fired plant and one hydro plant, to a joint venture of Sempra Energy Partners and Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund for $430 million before adjustments. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt.

Meanwhile, Sempra Energy Partners and Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund on Thursday announced that they have entered into an agreement with the Calhoun County Navigation District to sell one of the inactive power plants involved in the transaction, the 254 MW E. S. Joslin Power Station in Calhoun County, Texas.

The Calhoun County Navigation District, a political subdivision of the state of Texas, operates the Port of Port Lavaca/Point Comfort. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The 632 MW Coleto Creek Power Station and the eight other Texas power plants retained by Sempra Energy Partners and Carlyle/Riverstone will comprise the newly formed “Topaz Power Partners.”

Sempra Energy Resources, the electric generation unit of Sempra Energy, will provide asset management services for the joint venture, including overseeing the operation of the plants.

Sempra Energy Solutions, Sempra Energy’s retail marketing unit, has contracted with several commercial and industrial customers for long-term power-sales arrangements representing 122 MW of Coleto Creek Power’s output. Sempra Energy Solutions will market the remaining merchant power from the plants on a day-ahead basis.

“Carlyle/Riverstone is proud to be working in partnership with Sempra Energy in this enterprise,” said Michael Hoffman, managing director of Carlyle/Riverstone. “We expect that this first acquisition by Topaz Power will produce significant value on its own, and we look forward to growing this enterprise through additional acquisitions and business-development initiatives in the Texas market.”

Four of the plants involved in the transaction are currently inactive — including the E.S. Joslin plant. Sempra Energy and Carlyle/Riverstone will continue evaluating strategic alternatives for these units going forward.

AEP in March said that TCC had signed an agreement to sell its remaining generating assets, including eight natural gas plants, one coal-fired plant and one hydro plant, to the joint venture. The parties recently received the necessary approvals from the Federal Trade Commission and FERC related to the transaction.

Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund II LP is a joint venture between Riverstone and The Carlyle Group that is focused on investing in the global energy and power sectors, utilizing private equity capital of over $1.2 billion.

Sempra Energy Partners, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, was formed in 2003 to team with financial and energy partners to acquire energy assets such as power plants, pipelines, and related energy facilities

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