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Richard Hunter, managing director and head of Fitch Ratings' European power group in London, has moved across the pond to head up U.S. power coverage at the rating agency. Hunter says he arrived in the Big Apple last month and fills a slot created by the departure of Steve Fetter earlier this year. Hunter heads of team of around 20-25 staffers who cover investor-owned and municipal utilities, according to a Fitch spokesman. Since leaving the rating agency Fetter has set up an energy advisory consultancy, Regulation UnFettered, the location of which could not be determined.

Royal Bank of Scotland has hired Andrea Picott, a power sector financier at Westdeutsche Landesbank, to join its New York debt syndication team. Picott, who joins later this week as an assistant v.p., will be working with David Nadelman, v.p., the point person for RBS' power project finance syndication effort, according to market officials.

PG&E National Energy Group is considering joining the handful of power companies that have tapped the institutional investor loan market. The Bethesda, Md.-player needs the funding to cover a $230 million equity injection due shortly at its Lake Road power project and a $370 million equity call associated with its La Paloma project. Lenders says Citibank is working with NEG on the loan, but add a deal could be some way down the track as NEG does not need to stump up the equity until next spring. David Mould, spokesman at NEG, did not return calls. Citi officials declined comment.

ChevronTexaco is planning to swoop on Dynegy if the embattled energy trader teeters towards bankruptcy, says a banker who has spoken to the oil giant's management about its plans. He notes ChevronTexaco is keeping its powder dry for now and is waiting for Dynegy's stock price to tank further before buying the remaining 73% of the company it doesn't own. As of last Friday morning, Dynegy shares were trading at $2.03, giving it a market capitalization of $1 billion. The bulk of the purchase price would then be the assumption of Dynegy's debt and energy contract liabilities. As of March 31, Dynegy has $5.1 billion in debt, according to its 10-Q filing.

Citigroup and Chicago-based hedge fundCitadel Investments have reportedly made the shortlist of bidders to buy or form a joint venture with Aquila's power trading business, say market officials. Louis Dreyfus is the other shortlisted bidder (PFR, 7/29). Al Butkus, a spokesman at Aquila, did not return calls.

Standard & Poor's recent downgrade of AES's Brazilian subsidiary Eletropaulo Metropolitana Electricidade de Sao Paulo to CCC from B could prompt its creditors to play hardball with the beleaguered utility. Latin American bankers warn that Banco Nacional Desenvolvimento Economico e Social, along with several other lenders that have held debt restructuring talks with Eletropaulo over some $700 million of debt coming due imminently, is less likely to grant an extension on the debt following the downgrade.

Ontario's government has scrapped plans to float the province's monopoly wire business Hydro One and has begun searching for a financial advisor to help it find a strategic partner willing to take a 49% stake in the company. As part of the shift in policy the Ontario government launched a new request for proposals process at the beginning of last month to find an advisor and is expected to select one or more firms within the next few days, says one banker pitching for the mandate. The banker adds that the selection was originally expected to occur by the end of July.

Calpine is looking to tap a small group of banks to fund the construction of a 300 MW natural gas-fired peaker in Colorado. One banker says the loan for the Blue Bruce Energy Center is in the $100-150 million range and Credit Lyonnais is leading the transaction. The deal will probably be wrapped on a club basis with four to five players signing up, according to the banker. Calls to Credit Lyonnais and Calpine were not returned immediately.

Rapid City, S.D.-based Blacks Hills Corp. is close to finalizing a $160 million fully underwritten non-recourse loan to finance the building of a 230 MW plant in Las Vegas. Richard Ashbeck, senior v.p. of finance, says ABN AMRO and Credit Lyonnais have been retained to lead the financing, and more banks may come in at a senior level before the deal enters syndication. The debt will have a construction plus five-year tenor (PFR, 6/3).

Omaha, Neb.-based Tenaska has signed up five banks to fire up $450-500 million in non-recourse loan funding for a new 885 MW plant in Virginia. DZ Bank and HypoVereinsbank are co-bookrunners, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Credit Lyonnais are co-syndications agents and Dexia is co-documentation agent, according to market officials. The combined-cycle, natural gas-fired facility will be located north of Antioch in Fluvanna County (PFR, 6/3).