Calpine’s loss cut on higher prices

Power producer Calpine Corp. said its second-quarter loss narrowed as it sold more power at higher prices and reorganization costs fell.

San Jose-based Calpine said its loss narrowed to $500 million, or $1.04 a share, from a loss of $818 million, or $1.71, in the second quarter of 2006. Revenue rose 24% to $1.98 billion.

Its shares rose 18 cents, or more than 6%, to $3.08 after Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland approved a settlement resolving $290 million in claims by note holders represented by Wilmington Trust Co. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2005.

Calpine said it received an average of $51.12 a megawatt-hour for its electricity in the second quarter, 8.8% more than a year earlier. Output from its plants rose 13% to 21.4 million megawatt-hours. A megawatt-hour can power 800 average U.S. homes for an hour, according to the U.S. Energy Department.