Con Edison Energy Purchases Assets From Western Massachusetts Electric Company

Consolidated Edison Energy, Inc. is purchasing 290 megawatts of fossil and hydroelectric generating assets from Western Massachusetts Electric Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northeast Utilities, for $47 million. The sale, which is contingent upon regulatory approvals, is expected to be completed by midyear 1999.

The generating assets, which are located in Western Massachusetts, include the West Springfield Station and an on-site combustion turbine, the Doreen Street and Woodland Road combustion turbine sites and five hydroelectric sites.

The five hydroelectric sites are the Gardners Falls Project on the Deerfield River; the Chicopee River Hydroelectric System consisting of the Red Bridge Station; Putts Bridge Station and Indian Orchard Station; and the Dwight Station. These facilities will provide Con Edison Energy with a mix of intermediate and peaking capacity as well as "Green Power" energy derived from renewable hydro resources.

Con Edison Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., is a wholesale energy supply company, markets specialized energy supply services to customers participating in the wholesale electric and gas markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States.