Centrica buys two UK power plants from TXU
Friday, 24 August 2001British gas and home services group Centrica Plc said it had bought two UK power stations for £173.5m stg, as part of its strategy to build up its electricity business.
Centrica said the two plants in East Anglia, eastern England, would have a combined generating capacity of 705 megawatts.
The deal will see Centrica acquire operating leases of about 20 years on the two plants from US utility TXU Corp, and take over day-to-day operation and management. The deal, expected to close by the end of September, is subject to regulatory approval from the UK Office of Fair Trading.
Centrica's electricity business currently serves 4.5 million customers, and a company spokeswoman said the latest acquisitions meant the group could meet demand for 30% of those customers from its own generating capacity.
The acquisitions follow Centrica's purchase in May of a 60% stake in UK utility Humber Power Ltd, which runs a 1260 MW power station in northern England.
'...Today's transaction reinforces our commitment to grow our electricity business and to continue offering customers a competitive package,' chief executive Roy Gardner said in a statement, adding that Centrica still aimed to eventually have seven million electricity customers.
Shares in Centrica closed at 226 pence yesterday. The stock has underperformed the FTSE gas distribution sector by about 7% since the start of 2001.
