UK power station sold to French partners

One of the UK’s largest power stations was sold today to French merger partners Gaz de France (GdF) and Suez.

Teesside power station, near Middlesbrough, provides up to 3% of the UK’s electricity and is Europe’s largest combined cycle gas turbine plant - generating 1875 megawatts (MW) through both gas and steam turbines.

It was formerly owned by the bankrupt US energy giant Enron and was taken over by US food and agriculture services group Cargill and investment bank Goldman Sachs after the energy firm collapsed in 2001.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed, although reports suggested the Teesside plant could be valued at between £200m (€265m) and £300m (€397m).

GdF and Suez will each take a 50% share in the 23-acre plant, which opened in 1993 and employs about 200 people.

The deal will beef up GdF’s UK presence as it already owns a 215MW plant at Shotton, Flintshire.