Arlington, Va., July 2, 2010 — The AES Corp. entered into an agreement with BG Energy Holdings to acquire Premier Power Limited, owner of the 1,246 MW natural gas-fired Ballylumford Power Station in County Antrim, Northern Ireland for $150.25 million.
The transaction is subject to license consents from the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation and the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Industry, and is expected to close in the second half of 2010.
The majority of Ballylumford’s output is contracted to Northern Ireland Electricity and the affiliated agreements allow for a pass-through of fuel costs.
Upon obtaining required consents, at closing AES‘ new unit, AES Ballylumford Holdings Limited, will acquire PPL through an all cash transaction and the final purchase price will incorporate working capital adjustments.
Northern Ireland was AES’ first international investment opportunity with its acquisition of the Kilroot facility in 1992, which today uses coal and oil and has an operational capacity of 622 MW.
The acquisition builds on AES’ recent investment in Northern Ireland’s generation capacity. In 2009, AES completed a platform expansion of Kilroot through the addition of 84 MW of peaking capacity.
Upon closing of the PPL transaction AES will have a total capacity of 1,868 MW, operating about 15 percent of the generation capacity in the Single Electricity Market, which covers Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES is a power company with generation and distribution businesses in more than 30 countries and applies its experience from construction, development, operations, sourcing and management throughout its worldwide platform.
The Ballylumford Power Station is a gas-fired generation facility situated in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland and operates in the SEM. It is the largest electricity generation site on the island of Ireland with a nominal operating capacity of 1,246 MW and consists of three stations:
* 600 MW C Station commenced operations in 2003 and includes two Combined Cycle Gas Turbines, V94.2 and V64.3 technology, with combined efficiency of 48 percent. All units have dual capacity, running on natural gas with the ability to burn distillate as back-up fuel.
* 540 MW B Station was constructed in 1974 and includes three natural gas driven steam turbines, each of which has an operating capacity of 180 MW and an efficiency of 31 percent.
* 106 MW, two Open Cycle Gas Turbine units, which began operations in 1976, provide peaking services for grid support and emergency response.
The AES Corp. is a global power company with generation and distribution businesses. Through our diverse portfolio of thermal and renewable fuel sources, we provide affordable and sustainable energy to 31 countries.
