SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), has agreed to sell its energy facilities management group to Thermal Western Holdings Inc., an affiliate of Thermal North America, Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The sale will have no material impact on Sempra Energy's earnings.
Sempra Generation's facilities management group manages 30 million square feet of climate-controlled space and 77,000 tons of cooling capacity for office buildings, casinos, hotels, hospitals, condominiums and medical centers in Southern California and Nevada.
Thermal North America, Inc. (TNAI) is a privately held company that owns the Trigen Companies, North America's largest owner and operator of community energy systems. The Trigen Companies currently supply electricity, steam and chilled water to government buildings, hospitals, universities and public housing complexes in New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Oklahoma, operating 17 facilities with a combined output of 9.6 million pounds per hour of steam, 100,000 tons of chilled water and 300 megawatts of electric power.
"This is a good transaction for both companies," said Michael R. Niggli, president of Sempra Generation. "Managing building heating and cooling facilities is not a core function of a power plant operator such as Sempra Generation, while Trigen specializes exclusively in providing this service on behalf of its customers in the Midwest and East Coast. Trigen was actively seeking a presence on the West Coast and this transaction fulfills that requirement."
"Owning and operating community energy systems is Trigen's only business, and as the largest owner of community energy systems in North America, the acquisition of Sempra Energy's facilities management group is consistent with our plan for continued expansion and adds to Trigen's geographical diversification," said Lance Ahearn, chief operating officer of the Trigen Companies. "The addition of operations in L.A. and Las Vegas complements Trigen's presence in the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and Midwest markets. Trigen welcomes our new employees in California and Nevada, and we look forward to providing them with the resources to deliver Trigen services to present and future customers in the Western part of the United States."
Sempra Generation's facilities management group is composed of about 100 employees. All employees working at the Sempra Generation's facilities management group affected by the sale will be offered positions with Trigen.
The completion of the transaction is subject to clearance by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
Sempra Generation expects the transaction to be concluded in the second quarter of 2006. The cash proceeds from the sale will be used to help fund Sempra Energy's other capital projects, such as liquefied natural gas receipt terminals, new interstate natural gas transmission pipelines and natural gas storage facilities.
The Trigen Companies are: Trigen-Baltimore Energy Corporation; Trigen-Boston Energy Corporation; Trigen-Kansas City Energy Corporation; Trigen-Missouri Energy Corporation; Trigen-Oklahoma Energy Corporation and Trigen-Philadelphia Energy Corporation; Trigen Trenton Energy Corporation; Grays Ferry Cogeneration Partnership; Trigen Building Services Corporation.
Based in Boston, TNAI is a private venture focused on investments in district heating and cooling systems and related energy investments.
Sempra Generation operates and maintains power generation facilities for competitive markets.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2005 revenues of $11.7 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 14,000 employees serve more than 29 million consumers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.
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Sempra Generation is not the same company as the utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.