SME will buy Batesville Generation Facility, a natural gas plant, located in Batesville, Mississippi, including all the assets of the plant, three combined-cycle units each with 279MW capacity totaling 837MW, and the site’s 58-acre land parcel.
The company will also acquire the supporting facilities of the plant which includes pipelines, transmission lines and an interconnection switchyard.
SME will also buy a 15% share in coal-fueled 582MW Plant Ratcliffe located in Kemper County and add about 88.5MW of low-cost energy to its energy generation mix.
South Mississippi Electric general manager and CEO Jim Compton said the company is transitioning from its traditional generation resources to environmentally-friendly resources.
"This month we have entered into an agreement for ownership of the Batesville combined-cycle facility, and our board has given final approval for the purchase of the Kemper IGCC facility," Compton said.
The electricity generated from the Batesville Generation Facility can be sold at a price of $340 per kilowatt.
The Plant Ratcliffe is expected to start commercial operations in May 2014 and SME’s ownership in the facility is expected to close by 31 December, 2012.
