CP&L, Florida Progress Merger Creates New Name While the electric utility serving the Carolinas will still be known as CP&L, a new name has been created by the merger with Florida Progress. The new company will be named Progress Energy Service Company, LLC, or Progress Energy. Western Resources Bought Public Service Co. of New Mexico will acquire Western Resources for $4.4 billion the companies announced in November. Both companies will become subsidiaries of a yet-to-be-named company. Officials with Western said the merger is consistent with a strategy the company laid out in the spring of this year. Currently, Western Resources serves regions in Kansas and Missouri. Merger To Cut Work Force Entergy’s $13.9 billion merger with FPL Group will ultimately result in trimming the two companies’ work forces by 5.3 percent. The two utilities, which are joining to become the nation’s largest investor-owned utility, plan to cut 1,271 jobs within two years after the merger goes through. The merger is expected to be finalized in late 2001. The two companies currently employ 26,000. CP&L Building Savannah Plant Raleigh, N.C.-based CP&L Energy will build a $200 million power plant near Savannah in Effingham County. The 525-megawatt combustion-turbine plant will be the company’s second Georgia plant. The plant will be used for energy and peaking capacity to the growing region. PG&E Picks Rockville, Maryland PG&E National Energy Group, a part of California-based Pacific Gas & Electric, has chosen a site in Rockville, Md., to build its new headquarters. The move is the result of a consolidation of operations in Bethesda, Md., Portland, Ore., and Houston. The PG&E arm will soon break ground on two buildings at the Tower Oaks development. Both buildings will encompass 450,000 square feet and can accommodate 1,000 employees. PG&E is one of the nation’s largest energy trading companies and is the primary power provider for the Silicon Valley. In a related story, PG&E has sold its Texas assets to El Paso Energy. Entergy, Cities Team Up Nineteen North Carolina municipalities that own and operate their own electric systems have hired Entergy Power Marketing to help manage their generation assets and the risks associated with the wholesale market. Under the agreement, Entergy will market and schedule surplus energy and purchase extra power for the 19 cities. The North Carolina municipalities that signed on with Entergy are: Albemarle, Cherryville, Cornelius, Gastonia, Huntersville, Landis, Lincolnton, Maiden, Monroe, Newton, Pineville, Shelby and Stateville. “Green” Energy Getting Renewed Interest Enron, TXU, FPL and Reliant Energy, among other energy companies, have invested millions recently in wind turbine power facilities. Houston-based Reliant recently announced the creation of a renewable energy division — Reliant Energy Renewables — which plans to build 160 wind turbines in West Texas that will generate more than 200 megawatts of power. In the summer, TXU and FPL announced they are building 242 wind turbines in West Texas to produce 160 megawatts of power. Once completed, wind power will represent 15 percent of FPL Energy’s portfolio. Last year, new wind power capacity of 3,600 megawatts was added globally, the most ever. Duke Buys Eight Plants, Sells One DukeSolutions is buying eight power plants from a Waste Management Inc. subsidiary for $100 million. The facilities include cogeneration and renewable energy plants in California, Pennsylvania, Maine and Florida. In related news, Duke Energy North America has sold its 500-megawatt merchant power plant under construction in Mississippi to PG&E National Energy Group. Construction of the facility, which is located near Kosciusko, began last March. The plant is scheduled to come on line in the summer of next year. Enron Turns Deals Enron Energy Services has signed a 10-year energy management agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. Enron will supply or procure electricity and natural gas, manage energy infrastructure through the implementation of energy-related projects and provide energy price stability at Starwood’s hotels. Entergy, The Shaw Group Form Company The Shaw Group and Entergy have signed a deal to create Entergy/Shaw LLC. The new company will provide management, procurement, construction, engineering and commissioning services to build electric power plants worldwide. Officials with the new company said that they expect to manage the construction of mulitple power projects that could exceed $6 billion. The new company will be headquartered in Baton Rouge, La. TXU’s $250 Million Deal Dallas-based TXU Energy Services announced it has signed a $250 million, 25-year management and investment agreement with TelePlace Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. TXU will assist TelePlace with evaluating power needs, maintaining equipment and with investment capital. CP&L Named Innovative In Technology Raleigh, N.C.-based Carolina Power & Light was recently named one of the nation’s most innovative users of information technology by InformationWeek magazine. The ranking was based on both the size and complexity of installed information technologies, as well as on the tangible benefits created by technology employed by the company. Duke To Extend Pipeline Duke Energy Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp., is planning to expand its East Tennessee natural gas system, building a 95-mile extension into North Carolina. The project, called the Patriot Extension, will extend from Southwest Virginia to Rockingham, N.C. The extension, which the company says is the centerpiece of a $215 million expansion, will eventually transport up to 600 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. TECO Invests In Projects Tampa-based TECO Energy’s independent power unit, TECO Power Services, is investing $93 million with Panda Energy on two Texas projects totaling 2,000 gross megawatts. The projects operate as gas-fired, combined-cycle units using highly efficient GE 7F technology. It is anticipated that the plants will be brought online in phases beginning in December of this year. TECO also announced last quarter that its TECO Power Services subsidiary is acquiring GenPower’s interest in two independent power projects being developed by the company in Arkansas and Mississippi. The combined capacity of the two plants will be nearly 1,200 megawatts. Memphis LGW Get Recognition For the second straight year, Site Selection magazine has named Memphis Light, Gas & Water in its Top 10 Utilities Ranking. The magazine selected winners based on criteria that included an examination of each utility’s facility location, economic development accomplishments and reputation for assisting site selection consultants.