FPL Energy Completes Acquisition of the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2007

JUNO BEACH, Fla. -- FPL Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of FPL Group, Inc. (NYSE:FPL) announced today it has completed the purchase of the two-unit, 1,023-megawatt Point Beach nuclear power plant located near Two Rivers, Wisconsin, about 30 miles southeast of Green Bay, from Wisconsin Electric Power Company (dba as We Energies), a subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE:WEC).

A wholly-owned subsidiary of FPL Energy purchased the Point Beach nuclear power plant for approximately $924 million. The final purchase price, which was subject to various adjustments at closing, included approximately $719 million for the plant itself and approximately $205 million for nuclear fuel, inventory and other items.

Jim Robo, president and chief operating officer of FPL Group said, "We are excited to add the Point Beach nuclear power plant to our power generation portfolio and pleased to further expand our customer relationship with We Energies, which now becomes the largest customer in our portfolio.

"This plant further diversifies our generating fleet and supports our strategy of creating a diversified, well-hedged portfolio. Point Beach provides us with a significant low-cost, emission-free, baseload generation source in the Midwest and complements our existing nuclear and wind assets in the region."

All of the power from the Point Beach nuclear power plant is being sold under a long-term power purchase contract to We Energies through the current NRC license terms of 2030 for Unit 1 and 2033 for Unit 2. The power from Point Beach is competitively priced and escalates each year of the contract.

FPL Energy also assumed responsibility for eventual decommissioning of the plant. Decommissioning funds transferred to FPL Energy as part of the transaction were approximately $390 million.

Point Beach is comprised of two pressurized water reactors totaling 1,023 megawatts of capacity and has more than 600 employees. Point Beach Unit 1 began commercial operation in December 1970; Unit 2 in March 1973. In December 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the operating licenses for Units 1 and 2 through 2030 and 2033, respectively (20-year extensions). The plant is in good material condition. The reactor vessel heads and steam generators have been replaced in both units.

FPL Energy expects to implement a power uprate at both units in the 2010/2011 timeframe that is expected to add approximately 134 megawatts to the existing plant output.

"FPL Energy has been a member of the Wisconsin community for several years through our ownership and operation of the Montfort Wind Energy Center. We have a strong track record of community involvement throughout the 27 states we own assets, and look forward to the responsibility associated with being a significant corporate citizen of Wisconsin as a result of this acquisition," said Robo.

Art Stall, senior vice president of FPL Group's Nuclear Division said, "Our nuclear organization has an excellent track record operating nuclear power plants safely and reliably. FPL Group and Point Beach nuclear programs are focused on safety and continuous improvement. We look forward to working with all of the Point Beach employees in providing safe, clean and reliable nuclear power to Wisconsin for many years to come."

FPL Energy will utilize the experience of the Point Beach team, as well as the experience gained as an owner/operator of the 605-megawatt Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa and the 1,244-megawatt Seabrook Station in New Hampshire.

The addition of Point Beach will add significantly to FPL Energy's power generation assets in the Midwest. By year end 2007, FPL Energy will have over 5,000 megawatts of wind assets in the U.S. with more than 800 megawatts throughout Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Kansas.

In addition to the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa which FPL Energy owns a 70 percent interest, the company, through the expertise of the FPL Group Nuclear team, also operates and owns a majority interest in the Seabrook nuclear plant in New Hampshire. FPL Group's other subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, operates four nuclear units in Florida at two sites, Turkey Point and St. Lucie, representing 1,386 megawatts and 1,678 megawatts, respectively. Florida Power & Light recently announced the proposed uprate of its four Florida units which, if approved, will add approximately 400 megawatts to the output of those plants by 2012.

FPL Group, with annual revenues of nearly $16 billion, is nationally known as a high-quality, efficient, and customer-driven organization focused on energy-related products and services. With a growing presence in 27 states, it is widely recognized as one of the country's premier power companies. Its principal subsidiary, Florida Power & Light Company, serves more than 4.5 million customer accounts in Florida. FPL Energy, LLC, FPL Group's competitive energy subsidiary, is a leader in producing electricity from clean and renewable fuels. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.FPLGroup.com, www.FPL.com and www.FPLEnergy.com.