AES Wins Bid for Nevada Plant

AES won a bid to purchase the controlling interests from Southern California Edison (SCE) and Nevada Power in the 1,580 MW Mohave generating station in Laughlin, NV for about US$667 million. SCE's interest represents 56% and Nevada Power's represents 14%.

The remaining interests are still held by the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), with 20% and Salt River Project, with 10%.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and a review by the Nevada PUC. AES expects to the sale to close late in the fourth quarter of this year.

Mohave is a two-unit, coal-fired power plant located on 2,500 acres along the Colorado River, about 80 miles south of Las Vegas. It is the largest coal-fired facility in Nevada. The station provides base load power to growing markets including Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Southern California.

"The acquisition of Mohave further solidifies our position in the southwestern United States. Together with our other businesses in the Los Angeles area, we will now own nearly 6,000 MW of generation in one of the fastest growing regions of the country," said J. Stuart Ryan, executive vice president of AES. "Additionally, Mohave's low-cost, coal-fired generation provides a diversification of fuel supplies to our existing portfolio of gas-fired assets in the western United States."

Edited by April C. Murelio