Central Puerto SA

active

Prospective

Central Puerto was created from Puerto Nuevo and Nuevo Puerto, two generating units owned by Servicios Electricos del Gran Buenos Aires (Segba), an Argentinean state-owned utility. Central Puerto had 1,009-MW in April 1992, but only 500-MW were operational at that time. The government privatized Central Puerto SA in three stages. In the first one, a 60% equity stake was sold for $92.2 million to Chilgener (30%), Distribucion Electrica Quinta Region (9.8%), and Chilectra Quinta Region (20.2%). The winning consortium also assumed debt for $50 million. A 10% equity stake was retained to be sold to Central Puerto's employees. The remaining 30% equity stake was sold through public offering for $132 million. By 1996, the equity was owned by Gener's subsidiary Hidroandes (30.67%), Chilquinta Argentina (15.34%), Pacific International (15.34%), and other private investors (38.65%). Central Puerto SA expanded its capacity by building a 370-MW new power plant in Loma de La Lata called Central Neuquen. The total cost of that power plant was $135.68 million. That generating unit started its commercial operations in August 1994. Central Puerto started a new expansion in 1996. The company awarded a turnkey contract to a consortium of General Electrica Power Systems and Techint Co. to install the new power plant of 769-MW by 1999. The total cost of this expansion was $242 million. In early 2001, TotalFina acquire all of Gener's stake in Central Puerto, which, at that time, owned 63.94% of Central Puerto. In January 2004, the French company Total SA (TotalFina) filed a claim against the Argentinean government with an international arbitration tribunal (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes - ICSID). The companies claim compensation for the losses caused by the devaluation of the Argetinean currency (peso) and the conversion of dollar-denominated tariffs into pesos. On November 12, 2006, Sociedad Argentina de Electricidad (Sadesa), owned by the Argentinian Miguens-Bemberg group and Merrill Lynch & Co (USA), signed the contract to purchase 63.94% of the shares of Central Puerto from Total Fina for US $35 million. Sadesa S.A. is now the operator of this plant as well as Piedra del Aguilla after purchasing a controlling interest in their shares. The contract signing for both purchases was supervised by Ministerio de Planificacion Federal, Argentina’s federal planning ministry. On December 4, 2006 the Company agreed with Sociedad Argentina de Electricidad S.A. (“SADESA”), a company that had acquired with Merril Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. a controlling interest in Central Puerto S.A. (“Central Puerto”), the purchase of 100% of the assets making up the Loma La Lata thermoelectric plant located in Loma de La Lata (“the assets”), Province of Neuquén, for a total of US$ 60,000,000. The transfer of assets was consumated on May 17, 2007. This decreased the generating capacity of Central Puerto SA by approximately 370 MW. Sponsor information needs to be updated in 2006

Energy

World Bank Group

Project

Natural Gas, Power Generation (CCGT), Power Transmission, Government, Commercial