ARCLIGHT INCREASES STAKE IN CALIFORNIA GAS STORAGE FACILITY

11/4/2002
 

BOSTON, MA (November 4, 2002) --

ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC announced today that its affiliate, ArcLight Energy Partners Fund I, LP, is now the owner of 100% of WHP Acquisition Company with the exit of Aquila, Inc. from the company. WHP Acquisition was an entity established by ArcLight and Aquila in 2001 to acquire the Lodi Gas Storage Facility in Lodi, California from Western Hub Properties, LLC.

Under the revised structure, and upon receipt of approval from the California Public Utilities Commission, ArcLight and Western Hub Properties would each become 50% owners of the Facility. The Facility is an operating, 12 billion cubic foot, high-performance depleted reservoir natural gas storage facility located approximately 35 miles south of Sacramento, and is connected to the PG&E backbone gas pipeline.

"The Lodi plant is a "state-of-the-art" gas storage facility that has exceeded our performance expectations in the short time it has been operational," said ArcLight Senior Partner Robb Turner. "We look forward to working with our partners, Haddington Ventures and JPMorgan Partners, to make Lodi one of the premier gas storage facilities in the country," Turner concluded.

ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC is a Boston based private equity firm. It manages ArcLight Energy Partners Fund I, L.P., a $950 million fund established to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities in the rapidly evolving power, utility, and energy industry. Additional information on ArcLight is available at the company's Web site, www.arclightcapital.com.

Western Hub Properties is owned by its management team and by Haddington Ventures through its affiliates, Haddington Energy Partners LP and Haddington Energy Partners II LP, and JPMorgan Partners. Haddington provides capital to the energy industry, including mid-stream oil and natural gas companies, emerging energy technologies, and electric generation, transmission, and distribution companies. Haddington's limited partners include affiliates of electric and gas utility holding companies Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) and Unisource Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS), and affiliates of financial groups Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and The Prudential Insurance Company of America (NYSE: PRU). Additional information on Haddington Ventures is available at www.hvllc.com.

Haddington is affiliated with JPMorgan Partners (JPMP), formerly Chase Capital Partners, a global partnership with approximately $30 billion under management. It is a leading provider of private equity and has closed over 1,800 individual transactions since its inception in 1984. JPMP has more than 150 investment professionals in eight offices throughout the world. JPMorgan Partners' primary limited partner is J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - News), one of the largest financial institutions in the United States. Additional information on JPMorgan Partners is available at www.jpmorganpartners.com.