Calpine to Build 2 Plants in State

Calpine Corp., which operates or is building power plants in 27 U.S. states and in Canada, on Tuesday said it will spend $4 billion over the next five years in California, where no natural-gas-fired plants have been built since 1972.

Calpine also expects to announce plans to develop 3,000 more megawatts of new capacity in the state, or enough power to light 3 million homes, the company said. That would be in addition to 4,700 megawatts of generation already being added.

San Jose-based Calpine plans to have two new plants producing power in the summer to meet hot-weather demand for air conditioning. The two plants will produce more than 1,000 megawatts, Calpine said.

Calpine shares fell 38 cents to close at $35.06 on the New York Stock Exchange. They’ve more than doubled this year.

No major natural-gas-fired plants have been built in California since 1972, and about 80% of gas-fired plants in the state are more than 30 years old, Calpine said. Many plants frequently shut down for repairs.

A drop in electricity reserves triggered a Stage 2 emergency Monday and three days last week.