Reliant in supply deal

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 10:41 a.m.

Reliant Energy's new Bighorn power plant will begin supplying 452 megawatts of capacity to Nevada Power Co. this summer.

An agreement calls for Nevada Power to supply natural gas to Houston-based Reliant, which will convert that gas to electricity for a fixed fee. The 16-month contract begins on June 1 and extends through the 2004 and 2005 peak summer periods. Nevada Power will use the energy for its customers in the Las Vegas Valley.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

One megawatt is enough electricity to power about 750 homes. Nevada Power's peak summer demand is nearly 5,000 megawatts.

The Las Vegas utility has about 700,000 customer, but only generates about 40 percent of the power needed to serve those customers. Bighorn, located near Primm south of Las Vegas, began commercial operation in February.

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