CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

TransCanada Corp., owner of Canada's largest pipeline system, won state approval to buy the power plant that supplies more than 20 per cent of New York City's electricity for $2.9 billion (U.S.).

The sale of the 2,480-megawatt, natural-gas-fired Ravenswood generating station was approved yesterday by the New York Public Service Commission in Albany.

The commission had ordered London-based National Grid PLC to sell the plant as a condition for approval of the $7.3 billion takeover of its owner, New York-based KeySpan Corp. last year. Calgary-based TransCanada won in an April auction.

TransCanada's partial ownership of several natural-gas pipelines that supply New York City won't give it the means to manipulate prices, commission staff said. The commission had ordered the plant sale on concern National Grid might use its ownership of power lines into the city to run up profit.