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TXU is currently involved in discussions with AES to restructure the jumbo power-purchase agreement tied to output from AES' 3.8 GW DRAX power station in northern England. The contract is significantly out-of-the money to TXU following the near 30% fall in U.K. wholesale baseload prices over the past two years.

Exelon is looking to land a third integrated utility business and is targeting the Northeast or Midwest regions of the U.S. Oliver Kingsley, senior executive v.p., says it is looking to swoop while valuations remain depressed, but will take a disciplined approach to expansion. Any acquisition will have to be accretive to earnings, offer a return on Exelon's bottom line and carry a light-to-moderate debt load. He declined to reveal potential acquisition targets, nor would he discuss whether Exelon has retained a bank advisor.

Toronto-basedBrascan Power plans to review the long-term project financing in place at the Lake Superior power plant in northern Ontario, following its purchase of Duke Energy's 50% stake. The CAD65 million ($41.5 million) deal gives Brascan full ownership of the 110 MW plant, says Richard Legault, president. Once the sale is completed Brascan will review the value of the asset to see if it could raise more debt to reflect its higher value, he says.

New York City-headquartered law firm Chadbourne & Parke has opened an office in Houston focused on the energy and power sector and is looking at building up to a 16-strong staff by year-end. Andrea Satty, the partner heading up the effort, says the firm has been planning the expansion for a year and half and has hired Dan Rogers, a former legal staffer at Enron, as counsel focusing on LNG as part of the effort. Satty says the downturn in the energy market means there may be less project work than when the firm originally conceived the expansion, but the firm sees LNG activity and energy M&A as having big potential for growth. Calls to Rogers were not returned.

Mirant has iced construction of its 300 MW Mint Farm merchant project in Longview, Wash., a facility it had planned to fund via a non-recourse facility led by Bank of America. A $300-310 million loan was penciled in for the plant and the 550 MW Sugar Creek project at West Terre Haute, Ind., (PFR, 5/13).

Northern States Power, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, plans to use $308 million from a $450 million offering of 10-year first-mortgage bonds to pay down outstanding debt on a revolving credit facility and will employ the remainder to bolster liquidity.

Hagerstown, Md.-based Allegheny Energy plans a $400-600 million mandatory convertible securities offering by the end of the year to strengthen its balance sheet and maintain its investment-grade rating. Michael Grandillo, spokesman, says Allegheny has yet to hire banks to arrange the deal. He adds that as such details on the structure and terms of the offering have yet to be determined.

Dominion Resources is weighing up a bid for CMS Energy's 4,100-mile Trunkline pipeline network. CFO Thomas Chewning says the Richmond, Va., energy concern has put the gas assets on its shopping list of possible acquisition targets. Any approach could see Dominion pitted against Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy, which is also thought to be targeting Trunkline (PFR, 9/2). Chewning declined to comment on what other pipelines or power assets Dominion is stalking.

Embattled Houston energy trader Dynegy is looking to enter a joint venture to bolster the position of its marketing and trading arm, Wholesale Energy Network. Dynegy President Steve Bergstrom told attendees the company has been locked in discussions for the past six weeks with several financial players and rival power companies about forming a J.V. He would not reveal the identity of the companies.

More than 200 power company executives, bankers, analysts and investors gathered at the Waldorf Astoria Hotelin New York City on Sept. 3-5 for Lehman Brothers' annual U.S. energy markets shindig.Embattled power industry executives focused on the need to take a more conservative approach to energy trading and balance sheet management in the wake of recent scandals and increased regulatory scrutiny. Reporter Amanda Levinreports: