PPL and Riverstone create joint generation company with 15 GW (US)

US power generation company PPL Corporation and Riverstone Holdings, a leading energy and power investment firm, have concluded a definitive agreement to combine their merchant power generation businesses into a new stand-alone, publicly traded Independent Power Producer in the United States. The new company, which will own and operate a diverse mix of 15,320 MW of generating capacity in key US competitive energy markets, will be called Talen Energy Corporation. Talen Energy will combine 5,325 MW of capacity owned and operated by Riverstone at 15 sites in Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Massachusetts with 9,995 MW of capacity owned and operated by PPL Generation at 12 sites in Pennsylvania and Montana. The new company's breakdown of capacity will be as follows: 40% natural gas, 40% coal and 15% nuclear. The above numbers exclude capacity from PPL's 11 hydroelectric units in Montana, which are expected to be sold to NorthWestern Energy pursuant to a September 2013 definitive agreement. About 83% of the generating capacity to be owned by Talen Energy is located in the region served by the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection, the world's largest wholesale electricity marketplace. Based on current generating capacity statistics, Talen Energy would be the third-largest investor-owned IPP in the United States. Upon closing, PPL's shareholders will own 65% of Talen Energy and Riverstone will own 35%. PPL Corporation will have no continuing ownership interest in Talen Energy. Following the spin-off, PPL Corporation will focus on the high-performing regulated utilities it owns and operates in the United Kingdom, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, serving more than 10 million customers.