Portland, Maine (Platts)--25Feb2009

A group of 32 non-profit Arizona utilities are planning to build a 480-MW
natural gas-fired power plant near Eloy, Arizona, to meet supply needs, Dennis
Criswell, a spokesman for group said Wednesday.

The Southwest Public Power Resources Group represents cooperatives,
municipalities, tribal power authorities and irrigation and electrical
districts in Arizona, California and southern Nevada.

The group, with a combined peak load of about 2,220 MW, was created in
2006 to help meet its members power supply needs. SPPRG has been exploring
different ways to meet its members' resource needs over the last year.

It has entered into a deal to buy 1,200 acres for the planned Sawtooth
generating plant, Criswell said. The utilities are considering including
renewable capacity at the site, he said.

Although electric sales have slowed with the economic downturn, the
participating utilities expect them to rise again once the economy recovers,
Criswell said. Further, some of the utilities have had long-term supply
contracts expire, he said.

Each utility will be responsible for funding its share of the Sawtooth
plant, Criswell said. The co-ops likely will seek funding from the US
Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service, he said.