SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: March 15, 1999
LG&E ENERGY CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Kentucky 1-10568 61 - 1174555
(State or other (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.)
incorporation)
220 West Main Street
P.O. Box 32030
Louisville, KY 40232
(Address of principal executive offices)
(502) 627-2000
(Registrant's telephone number)
<PAGE>
Item 5. Other Events.
On March 15, 1999, LG&E-Westmoreland Rensselaer, a California general
partnership in which LG&E Energy Corp. ("LG&E Energy") owns a 50% interest,
completed the sale of substantially all the assets and major contracts of
its 79 MW gas-fired cogeneration facility in Rensselaer, New York to Fulton
Cogeneration Associates, L.P., an affiliate of The Coastal Corporation.
With respect to its 50% interest, LG&E Energy announced net proceeds from
the sale of approximately $34 million and anticipates that the transaction
will provide a pre-tax contribution to earnings of approximately $14.5
million.
Two news releases of LG&E Energy describing the above matter are filed with
this report as Exhibits 99.01 and 99.02, and are incorporated herein by
reference.
Item 7(c). Exhibits Filed.
Exhibit
Number Description
99.01 News Release dated as of March 17, 1999.
99.02 News Release dated as of March 16, 1999.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
LG&E ENERGY CORP.
Registrant
/s/ John R. McCall
John R. McCall
Executive Vice President, General
Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Date: March 19, 1999
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<PAGE>
EXHIBIT INDEX
LG&E ENERGY CORP.
Current Report on Form 8-K
Dated March 15, 1999
Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description
99.01 News Release dated as of March 17, 1999.
99.02 News Release dated as of March 16, 1999.
- 2 -
Exhibit 99.01
Media Contact: Grant Ringel
LG&E Energy Corp.
(502) 627-2877
LG&E Energy Releases Financial Results of Asset Sale
Sale of Rensselaer Cogeneration Facility Provides
Substantial Contributions to Earnings
(LOUISVILLE, Ky. - March 17, 1999) As announced yesterday, LG&E Power
Inc., a subsidiary of LG&E Energy Corp. (NYSE: LGE), and Westmoreland
Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Westmoreland Coal Co. (OTC Bulletin Board:
WMCL), have sold their jointly owned 79.6 megawatt (MW) Rensselaer
cogeneration facility, located near Albany, N.Y., and the accompanying
indexed swap power sales agreement, to Fulton Cogeneration Associates L.P.
(Fulton), a limited partnership wholly-owned by The Coastal Corporation
(NYSE: CGP) of Houston.
LG&E Energy today announced it realized net proceeds of approximately $34
million. The transaction will provide a pre-tax contribution to earnings
of approximately $14.5 million.
Last June, the LG&E-Westmoreland partnership (LWR) entered into a new
contract with Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NiMo) as part of a Master
Restructuring Agreement that restructured the original contractual
relationship between the two parties. As part of that agreement, LWR and
NiMo executed a new indexed swap power sales agreement to extend for a
period of 10 years. Subsequently, LWR chose to seek buyers for this
contract, as well as for the Rensselaer facility, rather than continuing to
operate the plant.
"We are always driven to maximize shareholder value and I firmly believe
this transaction accomplishes that goal," said Vic Staffieri, LG&E Energy
president and chief operating officer. "It allows LG&E Energy to realize
the significant value of both the contract with NiMo and the Rensselaer
facility. The transaction will provide an immediate contribution to 1999
earnings, and a long-term benefit to our shareholders."
The Rensselaer facility is a combined-cycle power generation facility
located on a site leased from the Albany Port District Corporation. It
provides steam to an adjacent BASF Corporation facility and power to NiMo.
LG&E Energy Corp. (NYSE: LGE), headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a
diversified energy services company with businesses in power generation and
project development; retail gas and electric utility services; and asset-
based energy marketing. The company owns and operates Louisville Gas and
Electric Company, a regulated electric and gas utility serving Louisville,
Ky., and 16 surrounding counties, Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated
electric utility, based in Lexington, Ky., which serves customers in 77
Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia, and Western Kentucky
Energy, an unregulated subsidiary that operates four Western Kentucky coal-
fired generation facilities under a 25-year lease agreement with Big Rivers
Electric Corporation. LG&E Energy also owns equity in and operates power
plants in six states, as well as in Spain, and owns interests in two
natural gas distribution companies in Argentina.
Statements made in this news release that state the Company's or
management's intentions, expectations or predictions of the future are
forward looking statements. The Company's actual results could differ
materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, and
there can be no assurance that estimates of future results will be
achieved. The Company's SEC filings contain additional information
concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those in the forward-looking statements.
(END)
Internet Resources
LG&E Energy www.lgeenergy.com
Exhibit 99.02
Media Contacts: Grant Ringel, LG&E Energy Corp. (502) 627-2877
Diane Jones, Westmoreland Coal Company (719) 442-2600
Joe Martucci, Coastal Corporation (713) 877-3993
LG&E Energy and Westmoreland Energy Announce Sale of Assets
Coastal Corporation Acquires Gas-Fired Cogeneration
Facility in Rensselaer, New York
(LOUISVILLE, Ky. - March 16, 1999) LG&E Power Inc., a subsidiary of LG&E
Energy Corp. (NYSE: LGE), and Westmoreland Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of
Westmoreland Coal Co. (OTC Bulletin Board: WMCL), today announced the sale
of the jointly owned 79.6 megawatt (MW) cogeneration facility in
Rensselaer, near Albany, N.Y., and the accompanying indexed swap power sale
agreement to Fulton Cogeneration Associates L.P. (Fulton), a limited
partnership wholly-owned by The Coastal Corporation (NYSE: CGP) of Houston.
The Rensselaer facility, managed by the LG&E Westmoreland-Rensselaer (LWR)
partnership, is a combined-cycle power generation facility located on a
site leased from the Albany Port District Corporation. It provides steam
to an adjacent BASF Corporation facility and power to Niagara Mohawk Power
Corporation (NiMo).
Last June, NiMo executed a Master Restructuring Agreement that allowed the
LWR partnership to consider new proposals. Shortly after NiMo's
restructuring plan, a Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued, with Fulton
providing the most attractive offer. Fulton, which also owns a power
project in Fulton, N.Y., will own and operate the plant, which will be
operated by a Coastal subsidiary, Coastal Technology, Inc.
"We continually look for ways to maximize the value of our assets to the
benefit of our shareholders. In this instance, it was more beneficial for
LG&E Energy to sell the Rensselaer plant than to retain it," said George
Basinger, LG&E Energy senior vice president, Independent Power Operations.
"While we are normally in the project development or asset acquisition
mode, the sale is consistent with our goal to increase shareholder value."
The Coastal Corporation is a diversified energy holding company with assets
of nearly $12 billion and subsidiary operations in natural gas gathering,
marketing, processing, storage and transmission; petroleum refining,
marketing and distribution and chemicals; gas and oil exploration and
production; coal mining; and power.
Westmoreland Coal Company, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
currently is engaged in Powder River Basin coal mining, independent power
production and coal shipping and terminal facility operations.
Westmoreland owns interests in seven domestic independent power projects
through its wholly owned subsidiary, Westmoreland Energy, Inc.
LG&E Energy Corp. (NYSE: LGE), headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is a
diversified energy services company with businesses in power generation and
project development; retail gas and electric utility services; and asset-
based energy marketing. The company owns and operates Louisville Gas and
Electric Company, a regulated electric and gas utility serving Louisville,
Ky., and 16 surrounding counties, Kentucky Utilities Company, a regulated
electric utility, based in Lexington, Ky., which serves customers in 77
Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia, and Western Kentucky
Energy, an unregulated subsidiary that operates four Western Kentucky coal-
fired generation facilities under a 25-year lease agreement with Big Rivers
Electric Corporation. LG&E Energy also owns equity in and operates power
plants in seven states, as well as in Spain, and owns interests in two
natural gas distribution companies in Argentina.
(END)
Internet Resources
LG&E Energy www.lgeenergy.com
Coastal Corporation www.coastalcorp.com
Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. www.nimo.com
