ATLANTA - The state's No. 4 and No. 5 natural gas marketers are discussing a merger that would create a company serving more than 267,000 customers in Georgia. <br>
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A combination of New Power Co. and Energy America would challenge Shell Energy as the state's No. 3 marketer, behind Georgia Natural Gas and SCANA. <br>
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NewPower Holdings, the parent company of New Power, announced Wednesday it is in ``merger discussions for the sale of the company'' to Centrica PLC, the parent company of Energy America. <br>
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New Power, which has 805,000 gas and electric customers in 10 states, is 44 percent owned by Enron Corp. Three days after Enron declared bankruptcy on Dec. 2, New Power severed its energy supply agreements with Enron. <br>
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NewPower Holdings said owners of a majority of the company's shares support Centrica's offer of $1.05 a share, or about $133.5 million, but there is ``no assurance'' that the deal will go through. <br>
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Centrica, which operates Energy America through a Toronto affiliate, declined to comment. <br>
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New Power has 200,000 customers in Georgia under fixed-price agreements for a year or more. Energy America's 67,000 Georgia customers are billed based on variable prices subject to change with market conditions. <br>
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Public Service Commission chairman David Burgess said he presumed that a buyer would honor New Power's fixed-price contracts. Burgess cautioned that it is not clear whether there will be a merger or what the terms would be. <br>
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NewPower Holdings lost $173 million on $245 million in revenue during the first nine months of last year. The company has said it will need $100 million in financing to operate past the second quarter of this year.
