Dive Brief:

• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved FirstEnergy's sale of 527 megawatts (MW) of hydroelectric capacity to New York City-based LS Power. The deal, announced in August, is expected to close by the end of the year. Pricing terms were not disclosed.
• The 11 hydro projects are located in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The largest is the 451 MW Seneca Pumped Storage project in Warren, Pa. The smallest is the 750 KW Warren plant in Front Royal, Va.

Dive Insight: 

The latest deal is all part of FirstEnergy's plan, announced in May, to sell 1,240 MW of non-core hydro assets. Since its purchase of Allegheny Energy in 2010, FirstEnergy has been one of the nation's largest power producers. But on Tuesday, it reported third-quarter earnings fell 49%. Mild weather leading to lower prices and demand have hurt the company, leading it to cut jobs, operating costs and repurchase debt.