Pacificorp To Buy Australian Utility

PacifiCorp, which serves 1.3 million electricity customers in the West through Pacific Power and Utah Power, has agreed to buy Powercor, a utility in southeastern Australia, for $1.6 billion.

The purchase is the first step in turning the Oregon-based utility into a global energy company, PacifiCorp executives said.

“The Powercor acquisition provides an excellent platform for PacifiCorp to explore other opportunities in Australia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia,” said Fred Buckman, president and chief executive officer.

The company also has been exploring opportunities in the United Kingdom and India, and continues to pursue a bid to buy Big Rivers Electric, a troubled utility in Kentucky, he said.

Powercor, a state-created distribution company, currently markets power produced by state-owned generation facilities. Powercor serves 537,000 customers in the western half of Victoria, including the suburbs of the port city of Melbourne.