Entergy Arkansas To Buy Stake In Union Power Station For $237 Million

Entergy Arkansas said it has signed an agreement to acquire a portion of the Union Power Station near El Dorado for $237 million.

The total plant purchase price is $948 million, but Entergy Arkansas is only acquiring one of the four generation facilities that comprise Union Power Station.

Under the agreement, Entergy Arkansas and Entergy Texas, Inc. have each agreed to acquire one unit, and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. has agreed to acquire two units.

The purchase price is approximately half the cost to build a comparable new CCGT facility, Entergy said. The station is owned by Union Power Partners, L.P., an independent power producer and wholly owned by Entegra TC LLC.

Entergy Arkansas will operate the plant, which sits on 330 acres in Union County.

The 1,980-megawatt generating facility entered commercial service in 2003 and consists of four combined-cycle natural-gas-fired generating units, or CCGTs, each rated at 495 MW.

“Entergy Arkansas is focused on keeping customer rates among the lowest in the country and helping Arkansas’ economy to grow,” said Hugh McDonald, Entergy Arkansas president and CEO. “The Union Power Station purchase is a significant step in the ongoing modernization of our generation fleet. It’s clean, it’s efficient, and we’re buying it at a good price. Those factors combine to help us keep rates down, keep reliability up, and maintain an environmental profile that’s among the cleanest in the industry.”

“We are also fortunate that we have the opportunity to invest in an Arkansas facility that provides high-quality jobs to our state,” McDonald added. “This acquisition complements the transmission enhancements we are planning to make across the service territory that will improve reliability for our customers.”