NextEra Energy’s recent acquisition of GridLiance and its three subsidiaries gives the company a greater voice in RTO transmission-investment decisions and renewables development, CFO Rebecca Kujawa said Wednesday.
“There are investment opportunities … we would have in GridLiance,” Kujawa said during NextEra’s third-quarter earnings call with financial analysts. “But it also positions us to have a seat at the table in these [RTOs] as they contemplate new transmission projects. And obviously, GridLiance would seek to compete effectively for those opportunities.
“As we think about a broad and substantial expansion of renewables across the U.S., it becomes important, and increasingly so over time, to continue to invest in the transmission grid across the U.S.,” she said.
NextEra Energy Transmission announced last month it will pay $660 million for GridLiance. The company’s three subsidiaries, members of both MISO and SPP, own 700 miles of high-voltage lines in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada and Oklahoma. (See NextEra Buying GridLiance for $660M.)
The company said its NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary added nearly 2.2 GW of renewables since July to its now 15-GW backlog: 580 MW of wind, 911 MW of solar, 594 MW of energy storage and 86 MW of wind repowering.
The Juno Beach, Fla.-based company reported third-quarter earnings $1.23 billion ($2.50/share), compared to $879 million ($1.81/share) for the third quarter of 2019.
NextEra’s board of directors last month approved a four-for-one common stock split intended to make ownership “more accessible.” Trading on a stock split-adjusted basis will begin Oct. 27.
The company’s share price opened Wednesday at $299.06 but slowly lost steam during the day and was trading at $297.68 in the after-hours session.
