LOS ANGELES, April 22 (Reuters) - Nevada Power Co, a unit of Sierra Pacific Resources (SRP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday announced it has agreed to buy from Reliant Energy (RRI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) the 598-megawatt natural gas-fueled Bighorn Generating Station near Las Vegas.
Nevada Power is to pay about $500 million for the plant, plus related inventory, the two companies said in a press statement.
The deal needs to be approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and undergo a federal antitrust review.
The Bighorn plant can serve about 450,000 Nevada homes when operating at peak capacity. Nevada Power serves about 750 homes per megawatt.
The plant, located about 35 miles south of Las Vegas, began operating in early 2004. It cost an estimated $275 million to build, according to industry publications.
Nevada Power is the primary electric utility for southern Nevada. Sierra Pacific Resources subsidiary Sierra Pacific Power Co serves most of northern Nevada and the Lake Tahoe area in California. It is headquartered in Nevada.
Houston-based Reliant, one of the biggest independent power producers in the United States, with about 16,000 megawatts of generation capacity, said it expected to report a small gain on the sale, according to a filing.
Reliant spokeswoman Pat Hammond said the company has agreed to sell assets that it does not consider to be "core markets." including Nevada. (Reporting by Bernard Woodall and Eileen O'Grady; Editing by David Gregorio)
