Direct Energy Sells Three Texas Power Plants to Blackstone

Direct Energy, a subsidiary of Centrica plc CPYYY, has reached an agreement with Blackstone BX to sell its three gas-fired power generation facilities in Texas for $685 million in cash.  The facilities, located in Bastrop, Mission, and Paris, Texas, are part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' (ERCOT) North and South zones and total approximately 1,295 megawatts (MW) of capacity. As part of the transaction, an affiliate of Direct Energy has entered into a three year call option arrangement for an equivalent amount of capacity with Blackstone. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014. See full press release