GE Energy Financial Services Expands Gas-Fired Lending Portfolio with $73 Million for LS Power Merchant Plants

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bolstering its lending portfolio of natural gas-fired power plants, GE (NYSE: GE) unit GE Energy Financial Services announced today it is providing $73 million for three merchant generating facilities owned by an affiliate of LS Power in Illinois and Connecticut.

“We are able to analyze the near, medium and short-term power markets, then structure a transaction that enables us to lead-arrange and finance generating assets.”

GE Energy Financial Services, serving as administrative and collateral agent, is providing a senior secured credit facility that includes a term loan and revolving credit facility for the three gas-fired plants, which operate as peakers and are grouped as LSP Park Generating, LLC. Two of the plants, the 540-megawatt University Park North Power Plant and 300-megawatt University Park South Power Plant, are located in University Park, Ill. The third peaker, the 225-megawatt Wallingford Power Plant, is in Wallingford, Conn. LS Power is using the credit facilities to recapitalize the three plants.

“This transaction with LS Power reflects our ability to understand and lend against the underlying value of assets, including uncontracted generating plants, in recovering power markets,” said Matt O’Connor, a managing director and leader of the Financial Institutions Group at GE Energy Financial Services. “We are able to analyze the near, medium and short-term power markets, then structure a transaction that enables us to lead-arrange and finance generating assets.”

GE Energy Financial Services and LS Power have been partners on prior debt and equity transactions. For example, in a separate transaction completed in April, GE Energy Financial Services served as lender and administrative agent for a $125 million senior secured credit facility that included a term loan and revolving credit facility for LS Power. LS Power is using those proceeds to recapitalize Port River Funding, LLC, which includes two gas-fired peaker plants: the 740-megawatt Renaissance Facility in Carson City, Mich. and the 925-megawatt Riverside Facility in Zelda, Ky. GE Energy Financial Services had served as co-lead arranger for Port River Funding in 2009.

GE Energy Financial Services’ natural gas power portfolio includes 75 transactions worth $6.3 billion, invested in plants with 72 gigawatts of capacity.

About GE Energy Financial Services

GE Energy Financial Services’ experts invest globally with a long-term view, backed by the best of GE’s technical know-how, financial strength and rigorous risk management, across the capital spectrum, in one of the world’s most capital-intensive industries, energy. GE Energy Financial Services helps its customers and GE grow through new investments, strong partnerships and optimization of its $21 billion in assets. GE Energy Financial Services is based in Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, visit www.geenergyfinancialservices.com.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world’s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.

About LS Power

LS Power is a power generation and transmission group with a proven track record of successful development activities, operations management and commercial execution. LS Power has been involved in the development, construction, or operations of over 20,000 MW of power generation throughout the United States. LS Power is actively developing both power generation and transmission infrastructure to serve the need for new generation and improve the aging transmission system. LS Power has raised over $13 billion to support investment in energy infrastructure since 2005. For more information, see: www.LSPower.com.