• AUSTRIA’S VERBUND AND Germany-based E.ON are merging their hydro power operations to form a new company named European Hydro Power (EHP). Verbund will own 60% of the new company, with E.ON owning 40%. Headquarted in Austria, EHP will have a total installed capacity of 9600MW from over 200 hydroelectric plants, generating 35,000GWh per year. The hydro plants are currently owned by Verbund’s Austrian Hydro Power and E.ON’s Wasserkraft of Germany.
• US-BASED IT GROUP has reached agreement with hydro-quebec of Montreal, Canada, to form a company that will undertake the rehabilitation of hydro projects, as well as provide operations and maintenance management services for the hydroelectric power industry in the US. IT Group said that the increasing demand for energy and the aging hydroelectric power infrastructure in the US has created a growing need for such services.