Dive Brief:
- Federal regulators have approved Duke Energy's plan to sell its non-regulated Midwest commercial generation business to Dynegy for $2.8 billion.
- The deal includes ownership interests in 11 power plants in Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania, with a capacity of approximately 6,100 MW.
- Earlier in the year, FERC delayed a decision and requested additional information on the deal, citing concerns that Dynegy would control too much generation in the PJM marketplace.
Dive Insight:
Duke Energy had hoped to finish the deal either last year or in the first quarter, but said with FERC approval in hand it is now aiming for an April 2 closing. FERC's approval was the last remaining hurdle; the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period in November last year.
Along with the generation ownership interests, the deal includes the sale of Duke Energy Retail Sales, the company’s competitive retail business in Ohio.
Earlier this year regulators had called the application deficient and said more details would be required after noting Dynegy would control some 6.5% of PJM generation. The Charlotte Business Journal notes that last month a deal was struck between Dynegy and PJM Interconnection to alleviate competitive concerns.