Spin-off completed to form new US producer
Talen Energy Corporation has officially been established following the completion of the spinoff of PPL's competitive power generation business including its nuclear capacity.
The new company, which describes itself as one of the largest independent power producers in the USA, has been formed from the combination of the spun-off businesses with the competitive generation business owned by private equity firm Riverstone Holdings. Talen now owns 15,000 MWe of generating capacity, including two 1260 MWe boiling water reactors at the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The company's generation mix is about 43% natural gas or oil, 40% coal, 15% nuclear and 2% hydro.
The PPL spinoff was announced in June 2014 and has taken nearly a year to complete, requiring regulatory approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the US Department of Justice.
Talen's president and CEO is Paul Farr, whose former roles include president of PPL Energy Supply, executive vice president of PPL Corporation, and chief operating officer of PPL Global. Talen's generating capacity operates in states with deregulated electricity markets where competing suppliers can sell electricity directly to customers.
The spinoff completes PPL's transition to a company solely focused on regulated utilities in both the USA and in the UK, where it owns regional electricity network operator Western Power Distribution.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News