Entergy Arkansas Completes Hot Springs Facility Purchase

Entergy Arkansas, Inc. has completed the purchase of the Hot Spring Energy Facility, a power plant that sits less than a mile from where Arkansas Power and Light founder Harvey Couch ran the first transmission line between Malvern and Arkadelphia in 1913.

Arkansas Power and Light was part of a predecessor of utility companies to the modern-day Entergy system. Couch was the CEO and business leader who started Arkansas Power and Light and sister entities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

“This land and this community are where the vision to promote the economic development of Arkansas began,” said Hugh McDonald, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas. “We are so pleased to have the opportunity to invest in this community with a reliable, low-cost energy resource to serve the future power demand in Arkansas, and offer savings for all Entergy Arkansas customers.”

Entergy Arkansas announced plans to acquire the plant in 2011 and assumed ownership November 30.

The 620-megawatt, combined-cycle natural gas turbine unit was purchased from KGen Hot Spring LLC for approximately $253 million, a sizeable discount to the cost to construct a comparable facility.

“The Hot Spring Plant is an environmentally friendly resource, and its addition is another important step in preparing Entergy Arkansas for the future by providing low cost, reliable and clean generation to Arkansas,” McDonald said.

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 700,000 customers in 63 Arkansas counties.