Preparing for the advent of electric industry restructuring inNevada and a pending merger with Portland General, Sierra PacificResources’ two Nevada power utilities have begun the process ofselling off nearly a billion dollars of fossil-fuel generationplants in a two phase auction seeking preliminary, nonbinding bidsby next month. Book value collectively is just under $1 billion, aSierra Pacific spokesperson said.

Sierra Pacific is touting the plants’ interconnection to majorelectricity and gas transporters throughout the West and Southwest,and the expansion capabilities for building significant newcombined-cycle, natural gas-fired plants at the some of the sites.

Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power have a total of 2,900 MWup for sale grouped into seven different bundles of properties,many of with multiple generating units. Several of the plants haveupgraded gas or electric transmission line connections, adding totheir reported regional market value beyond the state of Nevada’sgrid.

The majority of the plants operate on gas or gas/fuel oil,representing a little more than 2,000 MW. There are two plants,totaling about 855 MW, that are exclusively coal-fired.

More than 10,000 acres of land is involved in this series ofpower plants, either directly or indirectly through a series ofleases the utilities now own. For example, the 167-acre, 72 MWnatural gas combined cycle plant north of Las Vegas, NV, HarryAllen Station, has a 6,000-acre surrounding site that Nevada Powerhas under long-term lease from the Bureau of Land Management. Thesite originally was proposed for a 2,000 MW, coal-fired generationcomplex. It has since been switched to a series of small gas-firedunits.

“These plants are valuable assets with great profit potential,”said Jack Byrom, Sierra Pacific Resources’ strategic businessdevelopment director. “They will provide their new owners with botha substantial regional presence in the fastest-growing utilitymarket in the nation and interconnections to many of the majorenergy markets on the West Coast and in the Great Basin region.”

Sierra Pacific Resources sent information to some 600 potentialbidders who can submit proposals for bidding on one or acombination of the seven bundles of generation units. Thosenonbinding expressions of interest are due in April. From thosesubmittals, Sierra Pacific will select a list of bidders it willask for formal, binding bids, prior to its wrapping up the sale andtransfer of the plants by early next year.

Richard Nemec

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