Pump Industry Analyst September 1999

REPORT IDENTIFIES TOP

US POWER SELLERS

Twenty three of the 45 com- panies that have taken con- trol of the US deregulated wholesale power market plan to build a total of 50 000 MW of new generating capacity, according to a new report published by McGraw-Hill’s Power Mur- kets Week newsletter.

Wholesale Power ‘99: Strategies, Assets and Trading Patterns of 45 Leading US Energy Companies finds that the top 45 companies account- ed for more than 99 per cent of all open market wholesale power sales last year. They also control more than 230 000 MW of power plant capacity for trading and mar- keting purposes. The top five wholesale power sellers for 1998 were Enron Power Mar- keting, AEP Energy Services, Southern Company Energy Marketing, Aquila Energy, and Dynegy Marketing & Trade.

The report includes in- depth profiles of the top 45 players and compares and analyses each company’s strat-

egy, market focus, strategic assets and trading patterns.

The report also includes directory information on 259 power marketers registered at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Statistical analy- ses of the overall market, and the top 10 players at each hub in terms of volumes are also provided.

The report is available for US$495 from Power Markets Week, Two Penn Plaza, Fifth Floor, New York, NY 10121- 2298, USA. Tel: +l 212 904 2406. Web: www.mhenergy.com

SNC-LAVALIN CONSORTIUM WINS INDIAN

CONTRACT The Indo Canadian Hydro Consortium, led by Jaipra- kash Industries Ltd, and a group of Canadian compa- nies led by SNC-Lavalin, have been awarded a contract by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in New Delhi, for the turnkey construction of the Chamera II hydroelectric development in Himachal Pradesh, India.

The total value of the pro- ject is approximately C$500 million and SNC-Lavalin’s part will be approximately C$140 million. The site is on the Ravi River, some 30 km upstream of the completed Chamera I facility. The project calls for a 39-metre high gravi- ty dam, four spillway bays with radial gates, two de-silt- ing chambers, a 7.9-km power tunnel, a 93-metre high surge shaft, an underground power- house of three units with installed capacity of 300 MW, and a 3.6-km tailrace tunnel.

Jaiprakash will design and carry out civil works, supply the indigenous portion of per- manent equipment and con- struction, and erect and com- mission the project. The SNC-Lavalin-led group will design and supply the offshore component of equipment. Work starts immediately and will be completed within five years.

GE WINS POWER PLANT

EXPANSION CONTRACTS

Under two contracts worth nearly US$200 million, Gen- eral Electric (GE) will supply two steam turbines, addition- al equipment and services for the expansion of two power plants in Colombia.

The projects will add approximately 280 MW of power and will increase the efficiency of the two plants. GE, in association with Par- sons Group International Ltd, received a US$125 million contract from Las Empresas Publicas de Medellin ESP (EPM) of Medellin, Colombia for the expansion of the Cen- tral Termoelectrica La Sierra power plant, located in Colom- bia’s Central Magdelena Val- ley. The existing plant, built by a consortium including GE and Duro-Felguera of Spain, con- sists of two GE MS7001FA gas turbine-generators and is being operated and maintained by GE. To convert the simple- cycle plant into combined- cycle operation, GE is supply- ing a 180 MW, three-pressure reheat steam turbine, an air- cooled generator and two heat recovery steam generators. The new combined-cycle plant will be the most efficient ther- mal plant in Colombia’s elec- trical system when it enters commercial service in Novem- ber 2000.

In the second project, GE and Parsons received a US$73 million contract from Isagen SA, ESP of Medellin, Colom- bia to convert the Termocentro gas-fired plant into a highly efficient combined-cycle oper- ation. The new plant is sched- uled to begin commercial oper- ation in October 2000.

DUKE ENERGY BUILDS

MERCHANT PLANTS

Duke Energy North Ameri- ca (DENA) is building two 640 MW, natural gas-fired merchant peaking power plants in Butler County, Ohio, and in Vermillion County, Indiana.

Commercial operation of the Madison Generating Sta- tion, Ohio and the Vermillion Generating Station, Indiana are expected in the summer of

2000. DENA, the developer of North American power pro- jects for Duke Energy, has been developing the two wholesale merchant facilities since autumn 1998, to address electricity generation short- ages experienced in the Mid- west. The Ohio and Indiana power plants will be construct- ed owned and operated respectively by DENA affrli- ates Duke Energy Madison LLC, and Duke Energy Ver- million LLC.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON

ARGENTINIAN GAS-FIRED FACILITY

The AES Corporation’s sub- sidiary, AES Parana SCA, has completed a US$448 mil- lion financing for its 826 MW (net) natural gas-fired com- bined cycle power plant, which will be sited adjacent to the 650 MW San Nicolas power facility on the Parana River west of Buenos Aires.

It is being constructed by a consortium of Mitsubishi Cor- poration and Nichimen Corpo- ration under a turnkey fixed price contract. A 500 kV trans- mission line and a gas pipeline are being built by local con- tractors. The total investment in the project amounts to US$448 million.

DUKE ENERGY WINS CENTRAL

AMERICAN AUCTION

Duke Energy International (DEI) has emerged as the successful bidder in the pri- vatisation of El Salvadorian generating companies Gen- eradora Acajutla SA de CV (Acajutla) and Generadora Salvadorena SA de CV, presently part of the govern- ment-owned utility Comision Ejecutiva Hidroelectrica del Rio Lempa (CEL).