SaskPower sells stake in Muskeg River Cogeneration Station
SaskPower is selling its stake in an electricity plant in the Alberta oilsands. The Crown corporation says it will receive about $40 million dollars for its 30 per cent share of the Muskeg River Cogeneration Station, located north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The buyer is Heartland Generation Limited, which already owns the other 70 per cent.
"Essentially we've made $40 million over the past 20 years and $20 million is the estimated return that we would have had on that plant over the next 20 years," said SaskPower spokesperson Joel Cherry.
"The sale allows us to receive fast cash today for the dividends we would expect it to receive over the next couple of decades."
Cherry says SaskPower invested in the Muskeg project in the early 2000s.
"During the intervening years we've returned more than $40 million in dividends from the project there. Now we've realized another 40 million dollars in sale proceeds."
The station was first commissioned in 2003.
"We've been a minority partner in this facility since the project began in 2001," said Howard Matthews, SaskPower vice-president of power production and CEO of SaskPower International.
"At the time, ATCO held the remaining interest. SaskPower and Heartland have worked together to negotiate the sale which will give Heartland sole ownership, as they bought ATCO's share earlier this year."
Most of the power generated at the station is used for operations at Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Muskeg River, Jack Pine Mine oil sands operations in Alberta.
SaskPower says the sale will have no effect on SaskPower customers or its employees.
