Energy In-depth: SWEPCO parent sells four Midwest power plants for $2.1 billion

Editor’s note: Each Friday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Energy In-depth,” a round-up of energy and regulatory news.
–––––––––––––––––

SWEPCO PARENT SELLS FOUR MIDWEST POWER PLANTS FOR $2.1 BILLION
American Electric Power, the parent company of Southwestern Electric Power Co., has signed an agreement to sell four competitive power plants totaling 5,200 megawatts (MW) for approximately $2.17 billion to a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners LLC.

The sale agreement includes three natural gas plants in Lawrenceburg Ind., and Waterford and Darby, Ohio, and a 2,665 megawatt, coal-fired plant in Cheshire, Ohio. AEP announced in January 2015 that the company was exploring strategic alternatives for these power plants, including a potential sale. All of this generating capacity is located in the region served by the PJM Interconnection.

The sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. AEP expects to net approximately $1.2 billion in cash after taxes, repayment of debt associated with these assets and transaction fees. AEP expects to record an after-tax gain of approximately $140 million from the sale, subject to a one-time adjustment. The Ohio utility giant is also evaluating options and will share details about its plans for investment of the proceeds from this transaction at an analyst day Nov. 1.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ACCELERATE U.S. OFFSHORE WIND DEVELOPMENT
U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell recently announced the publication of a collaborative strategic plan to continue accelerating the development of offshore wind energy in the U.S., which could help enable 86 gigawatts of offshore wind in the United States by 2050.

The plan, called the “National Offshore Wind Strategy: Facilitating the Development of the Offshore Wind Industry in the United States,” details the current state of offshore wind in the U.S. and presents the actions and innovations needed to reduce deployment costs and timelines, and provides a roadmap to support the growth and success of the industry.

The strategy was published just weeks after construction was completed on America’s first offshore commercial wind farm off of Block Island, Rhode Island. The new 30 megawatt wind farm was the Interior Department’s first right-of-way grant and is expected to start operating by the end of 2016. It will generate enough electricity to power 17,000 homes in New England. Other states like Massachusetts, which just passed an energy bill that requires utilities to get 1600 megawatt of their power from offshore wind by the summer of 2027, are also accelerating the development of offshore wind across our nation’s coastal states.

ENTERGY HIRES ENERGY INDUSTRY VETERAN TO OVERSEE COMPANY’S HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATION
Entergy Corp., the parent company of Entergy Arkansas, announced on Wednesday (Sept. 14) the selection of Andrea Coughlin Rowley as senior vice president of HR, effective Sept. 19. Rowley, who has more than 25 years HR management experience, will serve as a member of Entergy’s Office of the Chief Executive, reporting to Don Vinci.

In May, Vinci became the executive leader of the company’s combined shared services and HR organization. He will continue in that role, with the title of executive vice president and chief administrative officer. He will also continue to serve as the company’s chief diversity officer.

Rowley most recently served as the president and CEO of Advance/Evolve, a leadership and change management consulting firm. She began her career in human resources at Shell and later served in a variety of HR leadership roles at Frito-Lay, BMC Software and Baker Hughes, where she became vice president of global transformation and led the redesign of global human resources.