American Electric Power said Tuesday its AEP Generating subsidiary agreed to buy the Lawrenceburg Generating Station from an affiliate of Public Service Enterprise Group for $325 million.
The Lawrenceburg plant, adjacent to AEP’s Tanners Creek Plant in Lawrenceburg, Ind., is a combined-cycle, natural-gas power plant with a generating capacity of 1,096 megawatts. The plant began commercial operation in June 2004.
“The IGCC plants and our existing fleet of coal-fired plants in our eastern seven states will continue to supply the bulk of our customers’ demand and energy requirements on a daily basis,” said Michael G. Morris, AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The Lawrenceburg plant, along with the Darby acquisition announced in November 2006, and the Waterford and Ceredo plants purchased in 2005, will operate as mid-merit and peaking generation, designed for use when electricity demand is higher than average.”
When the transaction closes, expected in the second quarter, AEP Generating Co. will own the Lawrenceburg plant, and AEP will operate the plant as part of the company’s generation pool that provides power to AEP’s utility units serving customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.