Canadian utility acquires US small hydro operator

Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC is to become a wholly owned subsidiary of OPG.

Canadian provincial utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of the equity of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy LLC, an operator of small hydropower facilities in the US, in a deal valued at around US$ 298 million.

OPG announced that the transaction, which is subject to standard regulatory approvals, is expected to close toward the end of 2018. Upon final closing, Eagle Creek will become a wholly owned subsidiary of OPG.

Eagle Creek holds interests in a total of 76 hydroelectric facilities totalling about 230 MW on 45 waterways in the US and sells electricity within six power pools. It fully owns and operates 63 small facilities totalling 216 MW primarily in the Northeast and Midwest of the US and also has ownership interests in 13 other plants and two solar facilities in New England representing 10 MW of capacity.

“By expanding our core business with this purchase, OPG is capitalizing on a new growth opportunity by making an investment in a strategic set of hydroelectric assets that will produce an attractive return for our shareholder, the Province of Ontario,” said Jeff Lyash, OPG President. “This acquisition will be financed without the use of taxpayer funds and will have no impact on Ontario’s electricity customers. As Ontario’s public electricity generator, we have been stewards of hydroelectric assets for more than a century and we are proud to continue that legacy with this acquisition.”