ALLENTOWN, Pa.---Continuing the company's expansion of its electricity generation capabilities, PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) announced Friday (5/19) that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an additional interest in the coal-fired Conemaugh power plant, which is located near Johnstown, Pa. The acquisition is being made by PPL's development and international operating company, PPL Global, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement with Potomac Electric Power Company, PPL Global and Allegheny Energy Supply Company, LLC, will jointly acquire a 9.72 percent interest in the 1,711-megawatt plant.

PEPCO is selling its 9.72 percent share of Conemaugh as part of its announced plan to divest its generating facilities. PPL already owns an 11.39 percent interest in the two-unit facility, which began operation in 1970.

William F. Hecht, PPL chairman, president and chief executive officer, said that PPL plans to finance its portion of the purchase through debt and expects the transaction to be accretive to PPL Corp. earnings immediately upon closing, which is targeted for year-end. Completion of the transaction is subject to various regulatory approvals.

"PPL is one of the original joint owners of the Conemaugh plant and we are very pleased to be able to add an additional interest as part of our effort to expand our generating capacity in the Mid-Atlantic region, one of the largest electricity markets in the world," said Hecht. "We know this plant because we have been involved with it for 30 years. We're simply buying more of a good thing."

PPL Global and Allegheny Energy Supply will pay $152.5 million for the 166-megawatt share of the plant. The arrangement entitles each company to half of the output from this newly acquired share of the plant.

Hecht said that Conemaugh is a well-run, low-cost power plant that will further strengthen PPL's supply of electricity available for sale in the Northeast, one of the company's major market areas. "In the United States, we are concentrating on the sale of electricity in the Northeast and Western regions," said Hecht. "This acquisition takes us one step closer to our objective of acquiring or controlling 20,000 megawatts of generation in key U.S. markets by the middle of this decade. In this case, we also are very pleased to be partnering with Allegheny Energy, one of our region's largest energy companies."

With this acquisition, PPL will control more than 9,700 megawatts of generation in the Northeast, at its plants in Pennsylvania and Maine, and in the West, at its plants in Montana. It also is developing an additional 1,150 megawatts in these same two regions, with work under way on plants in Arizona, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Based in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corp. delivers electricity and natural gas to more than 1.3 million customers in Pennsylvania; markets wholesale or retail energy in 43 U.S. states and Canada; provides energy services for businesses in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.; generates electricity at power plants in Pennsylvania, Maine and Montana; delivers electricity to 1.4 million customers in southwest Britain; and delivers electricity to more than 800,000 customers in Chile, Bolivia and El Salvador.

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings and generating capacity, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although PPL Corp. believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. The following are among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements: market demand and prices for energy, capacity and fuel; weather variations affecting customer energy usage; competition in retail and wholesale power markets; the effect of any business or industry restructuring; the profitability and liquidity of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries; new accounting requirements or new interpretations or applications of existing requirements; operating performance of plants and other facilities; environmental conditions and requirements; system conditions and operating costs; political, regulatory or economic conditions; capital market conditions; and the commitments and liabilities of PPL Corp. and its subsidiaries. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and in conjunction with PPL Corp.'s Form 10-K and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.