ATLANTA, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Oglethorpe Power Corporation has closed on its purchase of the Hartwell electric generating plant from International Power and its partner. The purchase price for the northeast Georgia facility was $148.5 million, which includes approximately $53.5 million of existing project level debt that Oglethorpe Power paid off at closing.

Oglethorpe Power previously purchased the entire output of the approximately 300-megawatt oil and gas-fired plant under a contract set to expire in 2019. A right-of-first refusal clause in that contract gave the corporation first purchase rights to the facility if it was sold. In April of 2009, International Power announced that it, together with its partner, had reached agreement to sell the Hartwell plant to Southern Power Company, subject to a decision by Oglethorpe Power on whether to purchase the plant itself. In July 2009, Oglethorpe Power notified the plant's owner that it would purchase the facility.

"Purchasing and operating the Hartwell facility as part of our own generating portfolio will help ensure that the plant continues to provide needed peaking power to Georgia's EMCs and the citizens of our state," said Elizabeth B. Higgins, Chief Financial Officer of Oglethorpe Power.

Oglethorpe Power Corporation is the nation's largest power supply cooperative with about $6 billion in assets serving 38 Electric Membership Corporations which, collectively, provide electricity to 4.1 million Georgia citizens. A proponent of conscientious energy development and use, Oglethorpe Power balances reliable and affordable energy with environmental responsibility and has an outstanding record of regulatory compliance. Its diverse energy portfolio includes natural gas, hydroelectric, coal and nuclear generating plants with a combined capacity of approximately 5,500 megawatts (MW). Oglethorpe Power was established in 1974 and is owned by its 38 Member Systems. It is headquartered in Tucker, Georgia, in the Atlanta metropolitan area. For more information, check the web site at www.opc.com.

SOURCE Oglethorpe Power Corporation