Sempra to Sell Carlsbad Plant for $356 Million

San Diego Gas & Electric Co., a utility owned by Sempra Energy Co., agreed to sell a power plant to Dynegy Inc. and NRG Energy Inc. for $356 million, part of plans to comply with deregulation in California’s electricity market. Dynegy and NRG Energy, a unit of Northern States Power Co., would pay almost four times book value for the Encina plant in Carlsbad and several smaller units to have more electricity to sell in California. This would be the third power plant acquisition by the Dynegy/NRG Energy joint venture. SDG&E; would use the proceeds from the sale to reduce power plant debt and other obligations it has been charging its 3 million customers for as part of a four-year transition to competing in the state’s deregulated electricity market. In New York Stock Exchange trading, shares of San Diego-based Sempra fell 25 cents to close at $25.25; Dynegy, based in Houston, fell 56 cents to close at $12.50; Minneapolis-based Northern States Power rose 6 cents to close at $28.31.