SAN DIEGO, July 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), today announced it has completed the sale of Coleto Creek Power and seven natural gas- and oil-powered Texas power plants that were part of the Topaz Power Group, jointly owned, 50-50 with Riverstone Holdings, a New York-based energy private-equity firm.
The sale of Coleto Creek Power to International Power plc (L:IPR) (NYSE:IPR) for $1.14 billion in cash was announced April 20, 2006. In addition, Sempra Generation has completed the sale of its 50-percent share of the seven other power plants in the Topaz Power Group to Riverstone Holdings. Terms of this sale were undisclosed.
The cash proceeds from the sales will be used to help fund Sempra Energy's other capital projects, including liquefied natural gas receipt terminals, new interstate natural gas transmission pipelines and natural gas storage facilities.
In July 2004, Sempra Generation and Riverstone Holdings formed Topaz Power Group to purchase 10 power plants. Coleto Creek Power was the third of the 10 plants to be sold. Of the remaining seven plants purchased today by Riverstone Holdings, three remain in operation, including: Barney M. Davis, a 682-MW natural gas fueled plant in Corpus Christi; the Laredo Power Station, a 178-MW power plant in Laredo and the La Palma Power Station, a 255-MW plant located in San Benito.
Four idled plants involved in the agreement include: the 491-MW Victoria Power Station in Victoria; the Bates Power Station, a 182-MW facility in Palmview, and two Corpus Christi plants, the 559-MW Lon C. Hill Power Station and the 559-MW Nueces Bay Power Station.
Riverstone Holdings LLC and The Carlyle Group are the co-general partners of Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund(s). Riverstone, a New York-based energy and power focused private equity firm founded in 2000, has $6 billion under management. Riverstone conducts buyout and growth capital investments in the midstream, upstream, power, and oilfield service sectors of the energy industry. To date, the firm has committed $1.3 billion to 16 investments across each of these four sectors, involving $15 billion of assets. The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with $35 billion under management. Carlyle invests in buyouts, venture capital, real estate and leveraged finance in North America, Europe and Asia. Since 1987, the firm has invested $14.9 billion of equity in 439 transactions.
Sempra Generation operates and maintains a fleet of power plants serving the Western U.S. market.
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.
This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "would," "should" or similar expressions, or when the company discusses its strategy or plans, the company is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California State Legislature, the California Department of Water Resources, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries; capital markets conditions, inflation rates, interest rates and exchange rates; energy and trading markets, including the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices; the availability of natural gas; weather conditions and conservation efforts; war and terrorist attacks; business, regulatory, environmental, and legal decisions and requirements; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the timing and success of business development efforts; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are available through the EDGAR system without charge at its Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company's Web site, www.sempra.com.
Sempra Generation is not the same company as the utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.