PP&L Resources, a utility based in eastern Pennsylvania, iscementing its ties in the western U.S., buying the energy marketingoperation of The Montana Power Co. to go with the 13 powergeneration plants it is in the process of buying from the samecompany.

PP&L Resources said all the key employees have agreed tojoin the PP&L Resources family of companies. The energymarketing and trading operation will remain in Butte, but becomepart of PP&L EnergyPlus, the company’s unregulated marketingarm, and will sell electricity in both the wholesale and retailmarkets in Montana and the Northwest.

“The Montana plants are especially important,” according toRoger Petersen, CEO of PP&L Montana, “because they are locatedin the vast Western systems Coordinating council, which includesall the western states and Canadian provinces of Alberta andBritish Columbia. We envision that other plants acquired or builtin the western United States-such as the 600 MW plant a PP&LResources company is developing in Kingman, AZ, – will use theMontana-based marketing and trading organization. The group alsowill do the trading for the 13 plants being acquired from MontanaPower which generate 2,600 MW.Montana Power had said last year itwould exit the power marketing business because it was too riskywithout the generating assets to back it up. The company willremain in natural gas trading and marketing.

PP&L Resources, based in Allentown, PA is aiming to own andoperate about 20,000 MW of electric generation capacity in key U.S.markets in the next five years. Including current acquisitions andconstruction the company is only 8,000 MW short of its goal.

©Copyright 1999 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.