Calpine signs 10-year power sale deal in Wisconsin

NEW YORK - Power plant operator Calpine Corp. entered into a 10-year contract to sell 235 megawatts of electricity to WPS Resources Corp.'s Wisconsin Public Service utility.

In a statement, Calpine, of San Jose, California, said it would start delivering power under the new contract on June 1, 2006, subject to approval by Wisconsin regulators.

Calpine said it will support the contract with an expansion to about 550 MW of its 305 MW natural gas-fired Fox Energy Center, which is under construction. Fox is located in Kaukauna, Wisconsin about 20 miles southwest of Green Bay.

The first phase of Fox was scheduled to start delivering 235 MW to Wisconsin Public Service beginning on June 1, 2005.

Calpine said it expects to start construction of the second phase of the project later this year, using a combustion turbine from its existing inventory.

In addition to Fox, Calpine operates more than 1,500 MW of capacity in the Wisconsin, under contract to utilities throughout the state.

Wisconsin Public Service serves about 415,000 electric and 300,000 natural gas customers in northeast and central Wisconsin and a portion of Upper Michigan.

Calpine generates power in 21 states in the United States, three provinces in Canada and in the United Kingdom.

Reuters