Cleco Corporate Holdings to Acquire NRG South Central Generating

Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC (Cleco), owner of regulated electric utility Cleco Power LLC (Cleco Power), today announced that it will acquire NRG South Central Generating LLC (South Central), a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., for $1 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cleco will acquire eight generating assets totaling 3,555 MW, transmission operations, and contracts to provide wholesale power to nine Louisiana cooperatives, five municipalities across Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, and one investor-owned utility. The assets will be acquired through a new unregulated subsidiary, Cleco Energy LLC (Cleco Energy). Upon closing, seven of the generation assets will be managed by Cleco, with the Cottonwood plant in Texas being leased back to NRG, who will operate it until May 2025.

“The acquisition of South Central demonstrates Cleco’s commitment to being the leading energy company in Louisiana,” said Bill Fontenot, CEO of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC, Cleco Power LLC and Cleco Energy LLC. “Long-term, our strategy will be to merge the companies under one regulated entity.”