NRG Announces $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program; Closes 4.8 GW Asset Sale

NRG Energy Inc. has closed the previously reported sale of approximately 4,850 MWs of fossil generating assets from its East and West regions to Generation Bridge, an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners.

Details on the specific assets sold are below

At closing, NRG received $620 million of net proceeds, after purchase price adjustments pursuant to the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement entered into on February 28, 2021. "As previously disclosed, the transaction is leverage neutral with $500 million of the net proceeds allocated to deleveraging," NRG said

Following the closing of the asset sale and as part of NRG’s capital allocation program, the NRG Board of Directors has authorized $1 billion for share repurchases, effective immediately. The program is expected to begin in 2021 and will continue throughout 2022.

"Closing this transaction further advances our strategic priorities of decarbonizing our portfolio while aligning our business with the evolving needs of our customers," said Mauricio Gutierrez, President and Chief Executive Officer of NRG.

NRG said, "Under the share repurchase authorization, repurchases can be made from time to time using a variety of methods, which may include open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, all in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other applicable legal requirements. The timing and amount of any shares of NRG’s common stock that are repurchased under the share repurchase authorization will be determined by NRG’s management based on market conditions and other factors. NRG will only repurchase shares when management believes it would not jeopardize the company’s ability to maintain satisfactory credit ratings. The share repurchase authorization does not obligate NRG to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time or from time to time at NRG’s discretion."

The assets sold to Generation Bridge were:

New York

• Arthur Kill,: 866 MW Natural Gas

• Oswego: 1,617 MW Oil

New England

• Montville: 491 MW Oil

• Middletown: 762 MW Oil

• Devon: 133 MW Oil

• CT Jets: 142 MW Oil

California

• Sunrise: 586 MW Natural Gas

• Long Beach: 252 MW Natural Gas

Generation Bridge said that it is evaluating several potential development projects:

• 65 MW battery storage project co-located with the Long Beach station in California

• 15 MW battery storage project adjacent to the Arthur Kill station in New York

• 25 MW solar project near the Oswego station in upstate New York

• Off-shore wind interconnections to projects developed by third parties

• Assessment of renewable diesel utilization at certain dual-fuel capable plants.

"In addition, ArcLight confirms that Generation Bridge will not pursue the development of the potential 375 MW fossil-fired development project previously under evaluation at the Middletown plant in Connecticut," ArcLight said