Inquiry stalls Entergy power plant purchases in Miss., Ark.

Someday, Entergy Corp. may own power plants in Jackson, Miss., and Malvern, Ark. But no one’s sure when, or even if, the New Orleans-based utility will complete its $469 million purchase of two natural gas–fired plants from KGen Power Corp. That’s because the U.S. Justice Department may halt the deals. In 2010, the Justice Department told Entergy it was investigating whether the company had unfairly favored use of its own power plants, controlled transmission lines to strangle independent power generators, and then swooped in to buy their modern plants on the cheap. Entergy found out about the inquiry as it was buying a Louisiana generator, the fifth in a series of purchases. Now antitrust approval to buy two more has been delayed. “We don’t know really what’s going on at DOJ,” Entergy CEO Wayne Leonard told investors on an April 26 conference call. Entergy spokespersons say the situation has changed little since then. Justice Department officials didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press, which has the full story here.