JAY — Four hydroelectric stations in Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls are expected to be sold to a Canadian power company by the end of the year.
Ontario Power Generation announced Aug. 9 it had entered into a purchase and sale agreement with affiliates of Hudson Clean Energy Partners and other shareholders to acquire 100 percent of the equity of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC, an owner and operator of small hydropower facilities in the U. S., according to news releases on Ontario Power’s website, www.opg.com.
The facilities are on the Androscoggin River. Eagle Creek acquired the stations, which are associated with Verso’s Androscoggin paper mill in Jay, for $62 million in January 2016.
Eagle Creek, based in New Jersey, owns 63 hydroelectric facilities in the U.S. and has 216 megawatts of in-service capacity, according to Ontario Power. The stations are in 13 states, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, according to Eagle Creek’s website.
The hydroelectric power produced by Eagle Creek’s facilities will be sold to customers in the U.S., Ontario Power spokesman Neal Kelly said Thursday.
The purchase price is $298 million in U.S. currency and is subject to customary working capital and other adjustments on closing. Eagle Creek has about 160 employees in the U.S., according to Ontario Power Generation’s release.
Ontario Power plans to retain Eagle Creek’s management team and operational employees, Kelly said. The company views the personnel as important to the current and expected future success of the enterprise, he said.
“We have established a very productive line of communication with Eagle Creek representatives and we look forward to maintaining that relationship under the new ownership,” Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said Thursday on behalf of Jay.
“(Ontario Power Generation) produces nearly half of the electricity that Ontario homes, schools, hospitals and businesses rely on each day,” according to the website. The investment on behalf of Ontarians will be financed through Ontario Power’s corporate public debt program or other available credit facilities.
The company is the largest clean electricity generator in the province of Ontario, Kelly said. Canada’s 2016 federal census determined the province’s population was 13.4 million.
Ontario Power operates 66 hydroelectric stations, including a green power portfolio of 29 small hydroelectric plants, and 241 dams on 24 rivers, according to its website.
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