NRG Energy Inc. will pay $2.64 billion to acquire the assets of bankrupt Edison Mission Energy, adding nearly 8,000 MW coal, gas and wind generation. EME’s assets include four coal-fired plants in Illinois, about 10 gas-fired plants in California and more than 30 wind projects in 11 states. “These aren’t great assets, but they didn’t pay much for them,” said Morningstar analyst Travis Miller.
NRG is also among investors who paid $10 million for a stake in EcoFactor, a contender in the cloud-based home energy services and analytics sector.
More: Reuters; Greentech Media
Ameren Sells NG Plants to Rockland
Ameren Corp. will sell its Elgin, Grand Tower and Gibson City natural gas plants in Illinois to an affiliate of private equity firm Rockland Capital. Ameren said it expects after-tax proceeds of more than $137.5 million from the transaction.
The company also has received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to sell five coal-fired power plants in Illinois — Duck Creek, E.D. Edwards, Coffeen, Newton and Joppa — to Dynegy Inc. Ameren announced in December it would sell its merchant power plants to focus on its regulated utilities in Illinois and Missouri.
More: Reuters; St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Variable Pricing Changing Consumer Behavior
Pilot programs in Michigan and Illinois suggest smart meters and variable pricing are changing consumers’ patterns of energy use. “Many of our customers consider it a challenge to see how much they can reduce their rate,” said a spokesman for DTE Energy.
Navigant Research says as many as 5% of customers could eventually adopt variable pricing but that penetration will be less than 1% by 2020 unless utilities act aggressively to eliminate barriers.
