New Orleans-based Entergy confirmed earlier this month that ithas been involved in talks regarding a possible joint venturebetween its wholesale electricity trading unit, Entergy WholesaleOperations (EWO), and another undisclosed company. Entergy said ithopes to make an announcement within five weeks. No other detailsabout a possible deal were given.

“This is something that has been going on for a while. But thereports are true. We are looking to help hedge our price risk inthe wholesale electric trading business by creating a jointventure,” said Carol Clawson, an Entergy spokeswoman.

Based in Houston, EWO employs more than 100 people. It has beenoperating for more than three years. In 1999, the unit lost$500,000 in income. Yet, despite its poor financial results, theunit still finished in the top 10 of the power marketer rankings byselling 106.8 million MWh in 1999. That total marks an 8.8 millionMWh increase over 1998’s numbers.

Entergy owns, manages, or invests in power plants generatingnearly 30,000 megawatts of electricity domestically andinternationally and delivers electricity to about 2.5 millioncustomers in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi andTexas.

If the joint venture occurs, it will not be the first majorchange for Entergy’s wholesale team this year. Last January, EWOwas created when Entergy Power Marketing (EPMC) and Entergy PowerGroup (EPG) merged into a single entity. The unit was to be a majorpart of the company’s five-year growth strategy announced lastDecember when the company unveiled a five-year $9.8 billion capitalinvestment plan. Of that total capital amount, Entergy had plannedto spend $3.9 billion to grow its wholesale operations.

John Norris

©Copyright 2000 Intelligence Press, Inc. All rightsreserved. The preceding news report may not be republished orredistributed in whole or in part without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.