Legal & regulatory
Suit filed against Williams: Scott + Scott LLC, Connecticut-based law firm, has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Williams Companies, Inc. and/or Williams Communications Group Inc. between July 24, 2000 and January 29, 2002, inclusive. The complaint alleges that Williams violated sections of the Securities Exchange Act by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market, thereby artificially inflating the price of common stock.
Mergers & acquisitions
Framatome to purchase Duke: Framatome ANP has signed an agreement to purchase Duke Engineering & Services Inc. (DE&S). The purchase will include three DE&S business groups-nuclear, federal, and energy and environmental. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of this year; financials were not disclosed.
XENERGY buys EFI: Energy consulting firm XENERGY is acquiring EFI, a Boston-based consulting firm specializing in the environmental and energy sectors. The acquisition is effective immediately; financials were not disclosed.
GE Power acquires Bently Nevada: GE Power Systems has completed the acquisition of Bently Nevada Corp., a company specializing in machinery monitoring and diagnostics. GE initially announced its intent to acquire the electronics manufacturer in November; financials were not disclosed.
National Grid gets Niagara Mohawk: The U.K.’s National Grid Group PLC has completed the $3 billion acquisition of Niagara Mohawk, Syracuse, NY. The combined company will more than double the size of National Grid’s U.S. operations, creating the largest transmission network and distribution business in the New York/New England market.
Dynegy takes possession of disputed Enron pipeline: Energy marketer Dynegy Inc. took temporary possession of Enron Corp.’s Northern Natural Gas pipeline and named Dan Dienstbier as the pipeline’s president. Dynegy acquired the pipeline after Enron failed to repay a $1.5 billion equity infusion by Dynegy as part of a failed merger attempt. After the merger fell through, Dynegy claimed the right to acquire the pipeline, which was put up as collateral. Unless Enron raises enough cash to buy back the pipeline, Dynegy is scheduled to take permanent possession at the end of June.
Projects & contracts
Wartsila pulls in record order: Wartsila announced its largest power plant order ever in terms of contract value. The deal, which is valued in excess of $114.9 million, calls for Wartsila to supply Duke Energy with a new 160 MW power plant for its operations in San Jose, Guatemala.
Dominion takes over Enron deal: Dominion Resources Inc. and The United Illuminating Co. (UI) announced a $600 million power supply agreement under which Dominion will provide all UI’s power needs for the next two years. The two companies reached the agreement after UI terminated its supply contract with Enron Corp.
MidAmerican announces site: MidAmerican Energy identified Council Bluffs as the preferred site for construction of a 900 MW, coal-fueled generating plant. Development of the $1.4 billion plant will proceed following environmental review, public hearings and regulatory approval. The unit is scheduled to come on line in spring of 2007.
Innogy completes power complex: Innogy America has completed the Evander Andrews Power Complex, a new 100 MW generating facility for Idaho Power. The new gas-fired power plant, in Mountain Home, Idaho, uses two 50 MW Westinghouse 251B12 simple cycle turbines. Idaho Power has signed a second contract with Innogy to provide operations and maintenance services to the facility.
Transmission
PG&E gets approval to upgrade Path 15: A U.S. bankruptcy court authorized Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to spend $75 million to help alleviate transmission constraints on Path 15. The court also authorized PG&E to spend up to $136.9 million to upgrade transmission in the Tri-Valley region.
TransEnergie asks for FERC approval: TransEnergie U.S. Ltd. filed a request for rate approval with the Federal Electric Regulatory Commission (FERC). The approval would be for its third U.S. merchant transmission project, the Harbor Cable Project, which will consist of bi-directional, HVDC facilities connecting the transmission grids of New Jersey and New York City.
Executive appointments
Enron: Stephen F. Cooper has been named interim CEO and chief restructuring officer.
Avista: Jon E. Eliassen, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will retire from the company in April 2003.
Capstone: Karen Clark has been named chief financial officer.
Dynegy: Glenn F. Tilton, John S. Watson named to its board of directors. Marian Davenport named senior vice president, legislative and regulatory affairs.
