EnergyOnline.com News

Avista to Build 280 Megawatt Oregon Power Plant

7/24/2000

LCG, July 24, 2000--Avista Corp. said this morning a subsidiary will build a 280 megawatt natural gas-fired, combined-cycle power plant at the Boardman, Ore., Coyote Springs generating station owned and operated by Protland General Electric Co.

Avista Power LLC purchased the rights to the project from Enron North American and Portland General Electric. Avista said acquisition of the development rights represents "an important milestone."

"This project is vital to our strategic drive to expand our generation portfolio while providing acritical economic resource to this fast growing region. The turbulent evolution of the energy businessin the Pacific Northwest points to the need to dramatically expand new power generation in thisregion," said T. M. Matthews, chairman, president and chief executive.

Matthews should know. He watched as Avista's earning plummeted to the breakeven point in the second quarter this year because his company didn't have enough power to serve its native load. The manager of a California power plant told EnergyOnline Daily News at the time that Avista was offering $785 per megawatt-hour, at a time when the California rate cap was $750 for wholesale power.

Avista said engineering and procurement for Coyote Springs 2 are under way and the project is expected to be completed in June 2002. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.