Houston Industries Power Generation (HIPG) agreed to buySouthern California Edison’s (SCE) Ormond Beach Generating Stationfor $43 million. Ormond Beach has two gas-fired units totaling1,500 MW, and the deal includes land adjacent to SCE’s Coolwaterplant in the Mojave Desert, which Houston Industries bought inNovember.

The sale is part of the utility’s generating asset divestiturein connection with California restructuring. The deal marks thelast of 12 gas-fired plants sold by SCE and brings the total pricefor all 12 SCE plants to about $1.188 billion, for a premium overbook value of $569 million. The plants have a combined generatingcapacity of 9,562 MW.

Designated as a “non-must-run” plant by the CaliforniaIndependent System Operator, Ormond Beach has a summer generatingcapacity of 1,500 MW. It is the fifth SCE power plant bought byHouston Industries since November. The other generating stationsare the Mandalay plant (also in Oxnard), Ellwood (in Goleta),Etiwanda (in Rancho Cucamonga), and Coolwater (in Daggett).

HIPG also has a 50% interest in a merchant generating plantunder construction in Nevada. “This acquisition will strengthen ourposition in the California market and further our strategy ofbuilding a portfolio of generating assets in key regions of thecountry to support our wholesale trading and marketing business,”said Don Jordan, Houston Industries CEO

All plants were sold through an auction process that startedwith a regulatory filing a year ago, and involved 45 bidders whosigned confidentiality agreements. All except for Long Beach andOrmond Beach plant sales have received regulatory approval to date.The Ormond Beach sale is subject to regulatory approval and isscheduled to close June 1.

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