Business
Emera Acquires 25% of Grand Bahama Power Company Limited
HALIFAX, Sept. 16 /CNW/ - (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc. announced today that it has purchased 25% of the ...
About this update from Emera Incorporated
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nHALIFAX, Sept. 16 /CNW/ - (EMA-TSX): Emera Inc. announced today that it\nhas purchased 25% of the Grand Bahama Power Company Limited (GBPC) for US\n$41million through its acquisition of 50% of the shares of ICD Utilities\nLimited of the Bahamas. GBPC is located on Grand Bahama Island - the second\nmost populous island in The Commonwealth of The Bahamas approximately\n85 kilometres off the east coast of Florida.\n\n\n"This opportunity is immediately accretive to Emera and is another\nmeasured investment in the Caribbean region following our initial investment\nin Lucelec last year. This utility has significant potential in a favorable\nregulatory environment," said Chris Huskilson, President and Chief Executive\nOfficer of Emera Inc. "This acquisition positions Emera in the Caribbean\nmarketplace and we will continue to seek additional opportunities to invest in\nthe region."\n\n\nThe Grand Bahama Power Company is the only utility operator on Grand\nBahama Island serving 19,000 customers. The generation consists of one\nfacility with 137 MW of installed oil-fired capacity. The Grand Bahama Port\nAuthority Limited regulates the utility and has granted GBPC a licensed,\nregulated and exclusive franchise to produce, transmit and distribute\nelectricity on the Island until 2054. There is a fuel pass through mechanism\nand flexible tariff adjustment policies to ensure that costs are recovered and\na reasonable return is earned.\n\n\nThrough its investment in ICD Utilities Limited, Emera will elect\n3 members to the 7 seat board of directors of GBPC. Other investors in GBPC\ninclude Marubeni Caribbean Power Holdings Inc. which owns 55.4% and other ICD\nUtilities Limited shareholders which own 19.6%.\n\n\nThe Bahamas has a healthy, growing economy led primarily by the offshore\nbanking and tourism industries. It has one of the highest income levels and\nGDP per capita in the Caribbean region. The Bahamas has low inflation\nreflecting its economic stability and has a track record of prudent economic\nmanagement.\n\n\nForward Looking Information\n\n\nThis news release contains forward looking information. Actual future\nresults may differ materially. Additional financial and operational\ninformation is filed electronically with various securities commissions in\nCanada through the System for Electronic Document...