Announced

After losing a court battle that would have nullified theacquisition, FPL Energy Inc. announced Thursday it closed the dealto obtain Central Maine Power Co.’s (CMP) non-nuclear generatingassets. The transaction is expected to be completed inApril.

The merger bandwagon continued last week as UGI Corp. announceda proposed deal that would join its retail propane marketingbusiness with the largest marketer and distributor of printing andimaging paper and supply systems. UGI will sell UGI Utilities aspart of the transaction, making it the first company “in recenttimes” to completely shed itself of its utility business. Thecompany says it can take such a dramatic step because, unlike otherutilities, it has another “very distinct” business (propane) thataccounts for about two-thirds of its annual revenues.

UtiliCorp joined the merger-mania Friday as it announced plans to acquire St. Joseph Light &Power in Missouri for $190.6 million. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors for both companies but still needs approval from Light &Power shareholders and state and regulatory officials. Both companies expect the deal to close in 2000.

The pace of announced mergers and acquisitions (M&ampA) haspicked up steam in the last few weeks because electric utilitiesare realizing that the pool of potential natural gas targets isquickly dwindling, according to a Merrill Lynch &amp Co. report.

Moving one step closer to bringing 1.325 Bcf/d of gas fromWestern Canada to Chicago, Alliance Pipeline announced the start ofconstruction with the clearing of 410 miles of forestedrights-of-way for mainlines and laterals in northwestern Albertaand northeastern British Columbia. The entire system is expected tobe completed and in service by October, 2000. Alliance said italready has commitments from 37 shippers for 15-year contractsworth a total of $8.2 billion.

Burlington Resources (BR) announced that its plan for 80-acrein-fill drilling of the Mesaverde Formation in the San Juan Basinof New Mexico has been approved by the New Mexico Oil ConservationDivision. The 80-acre well spacing order could open up anadditional 7,000 drilling locations in the San Juan and be a majorfactor contributing to production growth in the basin over the nextfew years, according to basin analyst George Lippman, who hasstudied the San Juan for the last 30 years. To date, BR has drilled38 Mesaverde 80-acre in-fill wells and plans to drill 50 additionalwells in 1999.

Completing an asset sell-off started last month, ConsolidatedEdison Co. announced Baltimore, MD-based Orion Power Holdings asthe winning bidder in the auction for three New York citygenerating facilities. Orion’s winning bid was $550 million. MorganStanley Dean Witter advised Con Edison on the sale. Orion officialssaid the deal will close by mid-1999.

Taking its initial plunge into the Canadian Midstream market,Duke Energy announced last week its subsidiary, Duke EnergyServices Canada Ltd., acquired gas gathering and processing assetsfrom Calgary-based Cometra Energy. Financial terms were notdisclosed.

Taking its initial plunge into the Canadian Midstream market, Duke Energy announced Wednesday its subsidiary, Duke Energy Services Canada Ltd., acquired gas gathering and processing assets from Calgary-based Cometra Energy. Financial terms were not disclosed.