Enron Agrees To Buy Portland General
Energy powerhouse Enron Corp. has agreed to buy electricity wholesaler and utility Portland General Corp. for $2.1 billion in stock.
The deal will create the nation’s largest combined electric and gas utility, and make it one of the biggest electricity sellers.
It comes as the electric utility industry has been consolidating as big industrial customers shop more aggressively for power from the cheapest source.
Enron, based in Houston, is the largest marketer of natural gas in North America and the largest independent marketer of wholesale electricity on the continent.
Portland General, based in Portland, Ore., is a low-cost electric utility serving 657,000 retail customers in northwest Oregon as well as wholesale electricity customers across the country.