EPCOR Power L.P. announces a 10-year extension to the Power Purchase Arrangement for its Manchief Power Plant
EDMONTON, Alberta - October 24, 2006 (TSX: EP.UN) - EPCOR Power L.P. (the "Partnership") announced today that it has reached a 10-year extension on its power purchase agreement ("PPA") as a result of a competitive power acquisition process with Public Service Company of Colorado ("PSCo"), conducting business in Colorado as Xcel Energy, for the output of the Partnership's Manchief power plant.
Electricity generated from the Manchief power plant is currently sold to Xcel Energy under two power purchase agreements, both of which will expire on April 30, 2012. The 10-year extension, on substantially similar terms and arrangements as the existing PPAs, applies to the entire output of the plant under a tolling arrangement. Under the terms of the PPA extension, the capacity payments starting in May 2012 would be approximately 15% lower than under the existing PPA.
The Partnership and PSCo have also signed an Option Agreement under which PSCo has the right, during the latter part of the PPA extension term, to acquire the Manchief power plant. If PSCo exercises the purchase option, the Partnership would receive a fixed purchase price, as specified in the Option Agreement, which the Partnership believes will maintain the economic value of the 10-year PPA extension and compensate the Partnership for the power plant's expected residual value.
"We are pleased to have reached an agreement to extend the term of the PPA with Xcel Energy for an additional 10 years" said Brian Vaasjo, President, EPCOR Power Services Ltd., the General Partner of the Partnership. "This PPA term extension aligns with the Partnership's goal of providing unitholders with long-term stability and sustainable cash distributions."
The Manchief power plant was acquired by the Partnership in 2004 and is an approximately 300 megawatt, natural gas-fired facility located near Brush, Colorado.
About EPCOR Power L.P.
Established in 1997, EPCOR Power L.P. is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the Province of Ontario. The Partnership owns and operates a portfolio of 12 power generation assets in Canada and the United States with total net generating capacity of 869 megawatts. The Partnership's web-site is http://www.epcorpowerlp.ca/.
About Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.8 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis. More information is available at http://www.xcelenergy.com/.
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain information in this news release is forward-looking and related to anticipated financial performance, events and strategies. When used in this context, words such as "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "intend", "target" and "expect" or similar words suggest future outcomes. By their nature, such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Partnership's actual results and experience to be materially different than the anticipated results. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Partnership to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits, the availability and price of energy commodities, plant availability, waste heat availability and water flows, regulatory and government decisions, competitive factors in the power industry, the current economic conditions in North America and the performance of contractors and suppliers.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as actual results could differ materially from the plans, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Partnership disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason.
For more information, please contact:
EPCOR Power L.P.
Media Inquiries: Jay Shukin - (250) 882-5188
Shareholder and analyst inquiries: Randy Mah - (780) 412-4297 | Toll free - (866) 896-4636
Xcel Energy:
Mark Stutz - (303) 294-2300