FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) subsidiary FirstEnergy Generation Corp. was the winning bidder in an auction of a partially complete, 707-megawatt (MW) natural gas, combined- cycle generating plant in Fremont, Ohio. The facility, formerly known as Fremont Energy Center LLC, will be purchased from Calpine Corporation for $253.6 million under a definitive purchase agreement signed yesterday, pending approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.

"The Fremont facility has significant value to us because it is located in an area where we currently serve customers and it is connected to two regional transmission organizations - the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator and the PJM Interconnection," said Richard R. Grigg, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer of FirstEnergy. "Adding this plant to our fleet further diversifies our generation mix and, because of its low- emitting characteristics, will further reduce our average carbon-dioxide emission rate, which already is about one-third below the regional average."

Construction of the facility - which includes two combined-cycle combustion turbines and a steam turbine capable of producing 544 MW of load- following capacity and 163 MW of peaking capacity - began in September 2001. In court documents, Calpine has indicated that the plant is about 70 percent complete and could take 12 to 18 months and approximately $150 million to become operational. However, FirstEnergy has not yet completed its engineering review, which will finalize the cost and the timeframe for construction.

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company headquartered in Akron, Ohio. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as energy management and other energy-related services. Its seven electric utility operating companies comprise the nation's fifth largest investor-owned electric system, based on 4.5 million customers served within a 36,100-square-mile area of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; and its generation subsidiaries control more than 14,000 megawatts of capacity.

Wed Jan 30 10:14:00 CST 2008