Hoosier Energy and Wabash Valley Power, Indiana-based electric cooperative power suppliers, have taken steps to purchase a 627-megawatt combined cycle power plant near Beecher City, Illinois, for approximately $383 million.

Contingent on financing, regulatory approvals and other due diligence considerations, the two power supply cooperatives would take equal partner ownership of the Holland Energy LLC natural gas-fired combined-cycle plant in January 2009. The plant is currently owned by an affiliate of Tenaska Energy, a Nebraska-based independent power producer.

The power plant will help meet the power needs of the two generation and transmission cooperatives’ consumer-owned electric cooperatives while contributing to reserve requirements and providing value in energy markets. The facility will increase the reliability of electric supply and help manage costs for cooperative consumers.

Hoosier Energy President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Smith said acquisition of a 50-percent interest in the plant fits well into Hoosier Energy’s generating assets portfolio and meets member power supply requirements identified in the cooperative’s long-range resource plan.

“The Holland Energy facility will serve as a reliable, competitively priced source of power for our electric cooperatives in Indiana and Illinois,” said Smith. “It will add to our fuel diversity and complement our existing coal and natural gas-fueled power plants.”

Wabash Valley Power President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Coons cited the value of Holland Energy to the more than 350,000 homes, farms businesses and industries it serves.

“This generation acquisition continues the diversification of our power supply resources, satisfying the growing needs of our membership,” Coons said.

The Holland Energy plant is the second electric generation partnership project between Hoosier Energy and Wabash Valley Power. The two Indiana-based generation and transmission cooperatives also co-own the 258-megawatt peaking natural gas-fueled Lawrence Station in south-central Indiana.

Power from the Holland plant is delivered into the power grid controlled by the Midwest Independent System Operator over 345-kilovolt transmission lines owned by Ameren Illinois.

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About Hoosier Energy
Hoosier Energy is a generation and transmission cooperative providing electric power to 17 member electric distribution cooperatives in central and southern Indiana and one member cooperative in Illinois. Based in Bloomington, Hoosier Energy operates coal, natural gas and renewable energy power plants and delivers power through a 1,450-mile transmission network.

About Wabash Valley Power
Wabash Valley Power Association is a generation and transmission cooperative based in Indianapolis that provides wholesale electricity to 28 distribution systems located in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Wabash Valley Power owns 10 renewable energy power plants, in addition to coal, petroleum coke and natural gas facilities.

About Tenaska Power Fund
Tenaska Power Fund, L.P. is a private equity partnership of institutional investors outside privately held energy company Tenaska’s holding company structure. It was formed by the owners of Tenaska and is managed by a Tenaska affiliate, Tenaska Capital Management, LLC (TCM). TPF invests in a diverse group of energy and power companies and assets in the United States, with a focus on power generation, gas storage and midstream energy assets.

Combined cycle generating unit
An electric generating unit that consists of one or more combustion turbines and one or more boilers with a portion of the required energy input to the boilers provided by the exhaust gas of the combustion turbines. The units deliver higher fuel efficiency than simple cycle combustion turbine units.