Calpine Awarded Ancillary Services Contract with Alberta Electric System Operator
29 March 2005 - 6:50AM
PR Newswire (US)
Calpine Awarded Ancillary Services Contract with Alberta Electric
System Operator SAN JOSE, Calif., March 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- Calpine Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary Calpine Energy
Services Canada Partnership (CESCP) has been awarded a contract to
provide 75 megawatts of Transmission Must Run (TMR) Services to the
Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). The TMR Services, a type
of ancillary service that is required to address contingencies in
areas of inadequate transmission, will help provide voltage support
to the AESO's transmission system in southern Alberta near Calgary
and assist in maintaining overall system security. Awarded through
an open, competitive procurement process, the contract term began
March 17, 2005 and will extend to June 30, 2006. The contract has
options for extension until June 2008. The services are being
provided out of the Calgary Energy Centre, a 300-megawatt natural
gas-fired combined-cycle power facility located in Calgary. The
Calgary Energy Centre entered commercial operations in April 2003.
This contract is in addition to an existing contract between CESCP
and AESO for 125 megawatts of ancillary services from the Calgary
Energy Centre, which was awarded through a Location- Based Credit
Standing Offer in March 2001. "Calpine is pleased to be selected to
provide the AESO with needed transmission must-run services," said
Mike Rogers, vice president, western operations for Calpine. "The
excellent location and high-flexibility of the Calgary Energy
Centre make it uniquely suited to continue to assist the AESO in
meeting its system reliability needs in the Calgary area." The
Calgary Energy Centre is operated by Calpine Canada Power Ltd., a
subsidiary of Calpine Corporation. The facility is owned by Calpine
Power LP, a joint partnership between the Calpine Power Income Fund
(which owns 70%) and Calpine Canada Power Ltd (which owns 30%).
Calpine Energy Services Canada Partnership is the Canadian
marketing, trading and risk management arm of Calpine Corporation.
About Calpine A major power company, Calpine Corporation supplies
customers and communities with electricity from clean, efficient,
natural gas-fired and geothermal power plants. Calpine owns, leases
and operates integrated systems of plants in 21 U.S. states and
three Canadian provinces. Its customized products and services
include wholesale and retail electricity, natural gas, gas turbine
components and services, energy management, and a wide range of
power plant engineering, construction and operations services.
Calpine was founded in 1984. It is included in the S&P 500
Index and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol CPN. For more information, visit
http://www.calpine.com/. This news release discusses certain
matters that may be considered "forward-looking" statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, including statements regarding the intent, belief or
current expectations of Calpine Corporation ("the Company") and its
management. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could
materially affect actual results such as, but not limited to, (i)
the timing and extent of deregulation of energy markets and the
rules and regulations adopted on a transitional basis with respect
thereto; (ii) the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices
for energy, particularly natural gas and electricity; (iii)
commercial operations of new plants that may be delayed or
prevented because of various development and construction risks,
such as a failure to obtain the necessary permits to operate,
failure of third-party contractors to perform their contractual
obligations or failure to obtain financing on acceptable terms;
(iv) unscheduled outages of operating plants; (v) a competitor's
development of lower cost generating gas-fired power plants; (vi)
risks associated with marketing and selling power from power plants
in the newly-competitive energy market; (vii) the successful
exploitation of an oil or gas resource that ultimately depends upon
the geology of the resource, the total amount and costs to develop
recoverable reserves and operations factors relating to the
extraction of natural gas; (viii) the effects on the Company's
business resulting from reduced liquidity in the trading and power
industry; (ix) the Company's ability to access the capital markets
or obtain bank financing on attractive terms; (x) the direct or
indirect effects on the Company's business of a lowering of its
credit rating (or actions it may take in response to changing
credit rating criteria), including, increased collateral
requirements, refusal by the Company's current or potential
counterparties to enter into transactions with it and its inability
to obtain credit or capital in desired amounts or on favorable
terms; and (xi) other risks identified from time-to-time in the
Company's reports and registration statements filed with the SEC,
including the risk factors identified in its Annual Report on Form
10-K/A, amendment number 2, for the year ended December 31, 2003
and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2004, which can also be found on the Company's
website at http://www.calpine.com/. All information set forth in
this news release is as of today's date, and the Company undertakes
no duty to update this information. DATASOURCE: Calpine Corporation
CONTACT: media, Susan Dowse, +1-403-750-5419, or investors, Karen
Bunton, +1-408-792-1121, both of Calpine Corporation Web site:
http://www.calpine.com/
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