NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) will acquire a fleet of natural gas-fired power plants from LS Power Equity Advisors LLC (LS Power) for US$12 billion. The deal calls for NRG to buy 18 gas-fired facilities from LS Power with a combined capacity of about 13 GW, enough to power about 10.4 million homes. The acquisition will double NRG’s generation capacity to 25 GW.
“This acquisition transforms NRG’s generation fleet and broadens our customized product offerings, enhancing our ability to bring the future of energy to millions of customers across the US,” said Larry Coben, NRG Energy chair, president, and chief executive officer. “The transaction is financially compelling as it strengthens our credit profile and turbocharges NRG’s growth rate, while also supporting continued robust capital returns. We are in the early stages of a power demand supercycle, and we are excited to lead the way with reliable energy solutions that will drive considerable value for NRG and all of our stakeholders.”
NRG Energy, a Houston-based independent power producer, has already been a key beneficiary of the AI-driven boom that’s upended the US power system, and now it’s vying to take a bigger share of that growth. Electric demand had been mostly flat for a generation before OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in late 2022, signaling the arrival of artificial intelligence. Now, a surge in data centers to power AI has reignited investor interest in electric providers.
The facilities NRG Energy is buying are spread across nine states, expanding its footprint in the Northeast and Texas. NRG Energy is also acquiring LS Power’s CPower business, a 6-GW portfolio of commercial consumers that has agreed to curtail usage to free up supply when the grid is stressed.
