JACKSON, Mich., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumers Energy has
signed an agreement to buy a 946 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant to
help meet the growing power needs of its customers.
The utility reached an agreement with LS Power Group to buy the
Zeeland, Mich., plant for about $517 million. Consumers Energy will ask the
Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to approve the acquisition.
Consumers Energy expects to close the purchase in 2008, subject to MPSC
approval and other closing conditions.
Consumers Energy's president and chief operating officer, John Russell,
said the pending purchase fits in well with the utility's Balanced Energy
Initiative, which it filed recently with the MPSC. The Balanced Energy
Initiative is Consumers Energy's comprehensive plan to meet the energy
needs of its 1.8 million electric customers over the next 20 years. Buying
or building a major natural gas-fired power plant is a key part of the
Balanced Energy Initiative.
"This plant will help provide the power we need to meet the growing
needs of our customers in the most cost-effective way. Buying this plant
costs less than building a new plant of the same size and it can be
available to serve our customers next year," Russell said.
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. served as Consumers Energy's financial
adviser for this transaction.
Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS),
provides natural gas and electricity to nearly 6.5 million of Michigan's 10
million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
LS Power Group was founded in 1990 and is a fully integrated
investment, development and asset management group of companies focused on
the power industry.
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in
Rule 3b-6 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Rule 175 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and relevant legal decisions. The
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. They
should be read in conjunction with "Forward-Looking Statements and Risk
Factors" found in the Management Discussion and Analysis sections of CMS
Energy's and Consumers Energy's Forms 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2007 (CMS Energy's and Consumers Energy's "Forward-Looking Statements and
Risk Factors" sections are both incorporated herein by reference), that
discuss important factors that could cause CMS Energy's and Consumers
Energy's results to differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements.
For more information about Consumers Energy, visit our Website at
http://www.consumersenergy.com
SOURCE Consumers Energy
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Related links:
http://www.consumersenergy.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203850.html /
CONTACT:
Media, Jeff Holyfield, +1-517-788-2394 or Dan
Bishop, +1-517-788-2395, both of Consumers Energy; Investment
Analysts, CMS Energy Investor Relations, +1-517-788-2590
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