Cleco, DEMCO enter into power contract

Cleco Power has entered into a 10-year contract to sell energy, capacity and ancillary services to Dixie Electric Membership Corp., which serves the suburban Baton Rouge market. The contract becomes effective April 1, 2014. DEMCO’s current contract with NRG Energy expires March 31, 2014. Officials with Cleco would not disclose financial terms of the deal. The addition of the DEMCO agreement will grow Cleco’s total load by more than 20%, the company says. As part of the deal, Cleco will assist DEMCO in storm response programs. The contract is contingent upon regulatory approval by the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the Rural Utilities Service. Cleco says it has notified the LPSC of its intentions to file a long-term request for permanent additional generating capacity and plans to incorporate the additional load from DEMCO. Serving approximately 100,000 customers in a seven-parish area, DEMCO currently has a peak load of 578 megawatts.