Entergy Gulf States Louisiana to Power Methanex Corporation-Geismar Facility

BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. has signed a commercial and contractual agreement with Methanex USA LLC to supply up to 30 megawatts of power to Methanex's new methanol facility in Geismar.

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In July 2012, Methanex announced plans to relocate a 1 million metric ton methanol production plant from Chile to a new 225-acre site in Geismar.  On April 24, 2013, Methanex announced plans to proceed with the relocation of a second 1 million metric ton per year methanol plant from its Chile site to Geismar. Subsequent to the public announcement, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana has been working with Methanex to provide permanent power to its new facility. 

The power contract between Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Methanex is for an initial 10-year term and will continue thereafter on a year-to-year basis.  Entergy Gulf States Louisiana plans to upgrade its electric transmission system to meet the increased demand the methanol production facility is anticipated to generate.

"Methanex selected Entergy Gulf States Louisiana as the sole source for their power needs because of Entergy's ability to provide safe, clean, reliable and affordable power within the required timeframe," said Gustavo Parra, vice president, Global Excellence and Projects, Methanex Corporation.   

Methanex's first plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2014, and the second plant is expected to be operational by early 2016.  Methanex is investing approximately $1.1 billion dollars in the facility and will create approximately 165 new permanent jobs within the community. Additionally, construction of the two facilities will result in approximately 2,500 construction jobs.

Methanex commenced work on its first methanol plant in 2012 and started work on its second plant this year. Hiring for the first plant is underway, and jobs associated with the second plant will be filled in the year leading up to completion of the project.

"Working with Methanex to create the best solution to power the company's new Geismar facility is one of the ways we are proud to be a part of supporting the region's – and Louisiana's – economic growth and vitality," said Phillip May, president and chief operating officer of Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC.  "Our concerted focus on not only helping attract new businesses to the state, but also helping existing businesses succeed and expand, is about creating long-term opportunities for companies as well as the communities in which they operate."

Entergy Corporation was again recognized as one of the top 10 utilities in North America by Site Selection magazine's September 2013 issue for its work to support economic development.  In its list of economic development highlights from the previous year, Site Selection credited Entergy's work in helping to identify eight certified sites in partnership with Louisiana Economic Development. New civil engineering services have also made a great impact on the team's level of service and quality of site evaluation.

Entergy's Louisiana utility companies provide electric service to more than one million customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. and natural gas service to more than 90,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area through Entergy Gulf States Louisiana. With operations in southern, central and northeastern Louisiana, the companies are subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation. Entergy, which celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2013, is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power, making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $10 billion and approximately 15,000 employees.

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is the world's largest producer and supplier of methanol to major international markets. Methanex Corporation shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol "MX" and on the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the trading symbol "MEOH". Methanex can be visited online at www.methanex.com.

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SOURCE Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C.