AEP eyes sale of PJM’s competitive retail business as company focuses on regulated wire, renewable energy

Dive Letter:

  • U.S. Power is considering a sale of its competitive retail business, the fourth-largest nonresidential retail electricity provider in PJM Interconnect and the eighth-largest nationwide, company officials said Tuesday.
  • In addition, AEP agreed to reduce the sale price of its Kentucky utilities business to Liberty Utilities by 7.5%, from $2.85 billion to $2.65 billion, and delay the sale until January, the companies said. friday says.
  • Columbus, Ohio-based AEP expects to complete the sale of 1,365 megawatts of unregulated wind and solar assets early in the second quarter, according to company officials. “The sale of our unregulated contract renewable assets and our Kentucky operations will allow us to transfer funds to revitalize our transmission and distribution system,” said Julie Sloat, chief financial officer and president of AEP. “

Dive Insights:

AEP may sell its AEP Energy Subsidiaries as part of its move away from unregulated assets.

“We strongly believe in moving more stuff to the regulated side,” Matt SatterwhiteThe senior vice president of regulatory affairs said at an investor conference on Tuesday.

According to the company, AEP Energy has about 494,000 electricity customers in seven mid-Atlantic states, using 24 TWh annually, and about 180,000 natural gas customers in Ohio. Investor Day Introduction.

The business has about $170 million in net equity, or 6 cents of AEP’s projected 2022 operating profit of $4.97 to $5.07 per share, according to Sloat, who will replace Nick Adkins on Jan. 1. Akins) as CEO of the company. 1.

Meanwhile, bids for AEP will expire in about two weeks Unregulated wind and solar portfolio. The company reportedly sees “strong” interest from financial and strategic buyers Greg HallAEP Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer.

In addition to selling assets outright, AEP is studying options for its utility subsidiaries operating in multiple states, such as Southwest Electric, which serves parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

AEP wants to align its power generation portfolio with the policies of the states it serves, Satterwhite said, noting that utilities may share power generation between states with different energy policies, such as Virginia and West Virginia.

after meeting differences between countries Regarding individual power plants, AEP According to the presentation, the option to have a dedicated state-by-state generation resource is under review.

“While it may not look exactly like a sale, I think there may be some other opportunities out there,” Sloter said of AEP’s options for its multistate utility.

Looking ahead, AEP expects its utility to have about 6,500 megawatts of coal-fired power by the end of 2028, down from about 11,850 megawatts last year and 24,800 megawatts in 2010.

The company on Tuesday accelerated its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, five years ahead of its previous goal, and reduced its Scope 1 emissions (emissions from sources owned or controlled by AEP) by 2030 volume) decreased by 80% from the 2005 baseline.

Over the next five years, AEP expects to spend $15 billion on transmission, $10.8 billion on distribution facilities, and $8.6 billion on regulated renewable energy generation, company officials​​​ raised to 4%. According to Slaughter, the company has a pipeline of potential transmission projects worth $35 billion over the next decade.

According to the presentation, AEP Utilities’ most recent long-term resource plan calls for an additional 8,170 MW of solar by 2032, followed by 7,200 MW of wind, 1,528 MW of natural gas and 310 MW of storage.

In total, AEP has approximately 31,000 megawatts of power generation capacity. By the end of the decade, the company expects renewables to account for around 52% of its electricity generation, followed by natural gas at 20% and coal at 19%. According to reports, energy efficiency and demand response accounted for 3% of the avoided capacity increase.

AEP’s utilities have nearly 5.5 million retail customers In Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

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