A development and operating company (“the Company”) focuses on North American infrastructure with over 40,000 MW of competitive power generation. The Company’s fleet includes solar, wind, hydro, natural gas-fired, and battery storage generation projects, and it has invested over $8 billion in equity capital in the North American power industry.

A U.S. power and energy infrastructure owner purchased a power portfolio of over 3,800 MW of generation assets in the northeastern U.S.

The portfolio consists of the following four power generation facilities included in the transition:

• 2,400+ MW, multiple-unit generating natural gas facility using a dual fuel-capable steam turbine, combined-cycle, and combustion turbine.
• 780 MW natural gas combined-cycle facility.
• 560 MW natural gas combined-cycle facility.
• 132 MW wind farm facility.

Opportune LLP was engaged to manage and implement the carve-out of the assets from the seller. A few highlights included:

• Managed and executed all information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) transition activities (i.e., applications, infrastructure, licenses/contracts, SCADA, etc.).
• Coordinated more than 250 employees in the setup of new email, desktops, and laptops for the acquisition.
• Led review and deployment of the commercial applications, including physical security, document management system (Filenet), lockout/Tagout (LOTO), OSISoft PI, MicroGADS, E911 reporting, Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS), and ancillary systems to support operational functions.
  • Migration of all plant data and records going back over 20 years of operations.
  • The transition of all user data across seller’s systems (i.e., email, shared data, personal data, etc.)
  • Each user had to be set up with a new email address, password, and detailed instructions on how to log in to new IT systems.
  • More than 100 servers (IT and OT) were separated and reconnected to the buyer’s network after migration.
  • Opportune coordinated migration from SAP to Maximo CMMS application. Training sessions were coordinated for each location for the new Maximo system implementation.
  • Relicensing of Microsoft Office desktop applications (i.e., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.).
  • Required migration of cell phones for multiple carriers, while retaining existing cell phone numbers.
  • A mix of Private Branch Exchange (PBX) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology had to be transitioned during cutover. Backfill of servers was required to migrate to a new system. Phone numbers were ported over to each site during transition.
  • OSISoft PI licenses had to be repurchased and licensed for each location with new alert notifications set up post-close.
  • A temporary escalation helpdesk was set up to address critical issues throughout the process until the transition was completed.
  • After each site was completed, a technical resource was onsite to assist users with issues (five days). Phone support was available 24×7 after the transition period.
• Implemented custom web application to report River Data reporting to state regulatory entities.

READ MORE: Downstream: Process & Technology: M&A IT Transition

Opportune was uniquely qualified to handle IT and SCADA operations because of our extensive knowledge of power plant operations. This experience and knowledge provided us with the necessary resources to transition these assets without impacting the Company’s daily operations.

The M&A process for power plants presents new challenges depending on the age and location of the acquired asset. Each asset comes with its own set of challenges, especially when acquisitions involve companies that have operated assets for decades and have heavily integrated the assets within their infrastructure that don’t transfer with the purchased asset. Sellers provide additional challenges when hardware needed to operate the asset is not included with the sale of the asset and replacement is required during the sale date or the end of the transition services agreement. For more information, CLICK HERE.