Duke, Fluor to Partner on Western Power Plants

Duke/Fluor Daniel, a venture of utility owner Duke Energy Corp. and construction company Fluor Corp. in Aliso Viejo, will build three natural gas-fueled power plants valued at $1.2 billion to boost Duke’s output in the Western U.S.

A 1,200-megawatt plant will be built in Nevada, a 620-megawatt facility in Washington and a 600-megawatt plant in New Mexico, the companies said. The combined output would light about 1.8 million average U.S. homes when the plants start operating in the third quarter of 2003.

Duke Energy North America, the electricity generating and trading arm of Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke, will operate the plants. The company is building gas-fired plants, which have lower construction costs and pollute less than those fueled by oil and coal, to meet expected growth in Western states.

Shares of Duke, the biggest U.S. utility owner, rose 26 cents to $38.61. Fluor, the largest publicly traded engineering and construction company, fell 41 cents to $35.19. Both stocks trade on the New York Stock Exchange.