ENERGY - California's largest power generator reports record profits

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Major Power Generator Reports Record Profits

Source: kcbs

Publication date: 2001-04-27

(KCBS) - California's largest power-generating company is out with its quarterly profit and loss statement, and the numbers are well in the black. Jim Taylor in the KCBS Santa Clara County Bureau said Calpine reaped a fivefold profit during the first quarter of this year.

The San Jose-based company earned 94.8 million dollars, or 30 cents per share. That's up 424 percent from last year's profit of 18.1 million dollars, or seven cents per share. Calpine Chief Financial Officer Ann Curtis defended the profits. She told KCBS California legislators blame out of state generators for price-gouging the state, not Calpine, which sells its electricity to the Department of Water and Power, and to P-G-and-E at lower prices.

“We have had a plan in place for a few years, now where we intend to expand our California portfolio, not just because of the recent happenings, but because we believe that California, even prior to this crisis, has had a need for low cost, efficient, clean generation,” said Curtis.

Out-of-state generators, she said, are selling power for hundreds of dollars more than Calpine.

“If you look at the spot market today, a lot of the out-of-state generators, if you will, are getting prices in the 310 dollar to 340 dollar range. Our prices, under our QF contracts today are roughly in the 100 dollar range, so you can see the huge difference there.”

Curtis said Calpine has a commitment to alleviate the energy crisis in the state and plans to build more of what she called, "low-cost, clean, efficient power plants" in California.

“We’ve committed capital in the terms of four billion dollars to build these power plants over the next few years, specifically in the state of California,” she said.

Three units are expected to go online this year. “We have 13 power plants across the U.S. that will go into commercial operation this year that we’re just completing construction on,” Curtis said. “So, by the end of the year, on a nationwide basis, our portfolio will double to 12,000 megawatts.”

Calpine still hopes to build one of its power plants, the Metcalf project, in San Jose. “We still have very high hopes of being successful on breaking ground for the Metcalf project,” said Curtis.

-- Anonymous, April 27, 2001


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