PPL to sell two Long Island power plants
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - Allentown-based PPL Corp. said it will sell two power plants on New York's Long Island to the U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese power company.
The price is about $135 million plus working capital, which means the buyer will take over financial commitments related to facility improvements, said PPL spokesman George Biechler. The buyer is the U.S. unit of a Tokyo-based firm known as J-Power.
In a written statement, PPL said it expects the sale to result in an after-tax charge of 9 to 12 cents per share in the second quarter. That's because the value of the plants on PPL's books was higher than the sale price, Biechler said. The deal will benefit earnings after closing, which is expected later this year, PPL said. The plants were profitable but PPL will earn a higher return by using the money elsewhere, Biechler said.
The plants are not part of PPL's core business because they are outside the company's geographic focus and the output is committed to the Long Island Power Authority, Biechler said.
PPL generates and delivers electricity in central Pennsylvania.
Related News
Wind power making gains as competitive source of electricity
TORONTO - It's taken a decade of technological improvement and a new competitive bidding process for electrical generation contracts, but wind may have finally come into its own as one of the cheapest ways to create power.
Ten years ago, Ontario was developing new wind power projects at a cost of 28 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), the kind of above-market rate that the U.K., Portugal and other countries were offering to try to kick-start development of renewables.
Now some wind companies say they've brought generation costs down to between 2 and 4 cents — something that appeals to provinces that are looking to…
