Power Markets Development Co., a subsidiary of PP&L Resources Inc., recently became a strategic partner in a $50 million Latin American energy development fund.

PMDC is one of six initial investors in the Latin American Energy & Electricity Fund, organized to acquire and develop power generation and distribution assets in Latin America. The fund is managed by FondElec Group Inc., of New York.

"Latin America continues to be a major target market of PMDC and the FondElec fund will be an integral part of that strategy," said Bob Fagan, Power Markets Development president.

Many electric utilities throughout Latin America are being privatized, creating the opportunity for investment. The fund is making investments in Bolivia and Peru and evaluating opportunities in Chile and Argentina.

PMDC has committed up to $10 million to the fund and will serve on the fund's investment committee. The total investment potential of the fund is expected to increase to as much as $200 million because additional investors are likely to be added, Fagan said.

"Although the fund will be a central part of our Latin American development strategy, PMDC will still explore projects on its own in that region," Fagan said. "There could be situations where we are involved in a project both through the fund and as PMDC."

Earlier this year, PMDC, as part of a consortium, became part-owner of an electricity generating company in Bolivia. The company, Empressa Valle Hermoso S.A.M., was created when the Bolivian government split up its national power company, Ende.

Power Markets Development, located in Fairfax, Va., was created in 1994 to invest in power projects domestically and overseas. It is a subsidiary of PP&L Resources, the parent company of Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., based in Allentown, Pa.