Xcel interested in Calpine assets

By Ben Berkowitz

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Utility operator Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would be interested in a number of the assets of bankrupt power producer Calpine Corp. CPNLQ.PK, but Calpine is unwilling as yet to sell those assets, Xcel Energy Chief Executive Richard Kelly said on Monday.

"We've looked hard at Calpine's assets," Kelly said at the Reuters Global Energy Summit in New York, adding that the company had eyed plants in Colorado and Minnesota.

"They apparently are selling the not-so-good ones to start with," he said. "They talked to us about the ones in Wisconsin."

Kelly said Xcel would be "willing buyers" if the right Calpine plants came on the market. "We'd pay the fair price," he said.

Calpine said in April it would sell about one-fifth of its power plants. There has been little public detail yet about which plants might be offered for sale.

Other than Calpine, Kelly said there was little merger activity on Xcel's horizon, particular as it already has operations in 10 states.

"I wouldn't mind, and all of us wouldn't mind, an acquisition that made sense," he said. "There's really no great treat to being in more states. It's not a badge of honor, it's more a badge of courage."

Instead, the company will deploy its capital to internal growth plans and programs like its dividend, which it recently raised.  Continued...