FPL’s parent company grows amid criticism
Juno Beach-based NextEra Energy, parent company to Florida Power & Light Co., said Tuesday it has completed its acquisition of Atlanta-based Southern Co.’s natural gas plants near Orlando and Cocoa, Fla.
The natural gas plants are part of $6.48 billion in acquisitions from Atlanta-based Southern Company, announced earlier this year by NextEra. In July, NextEra completed its acquisition of Florida Gas from Southern Co. for $530 million in cash.
Jim Robo, chairman and CEO of NextEra, said the company is still targeting completion of the Gulf Power acquisition first quarter of 2019.
NextEra now has 65 percent ownership in the Stanton Energy Center, which contracts with the Orlando Utilities Commission and Florida Municipal Power Agency, and 100 percent ownership in the Oleander natural gas plant, which has power purchase agreements with the Florida Municipal Power Agency and Seminole Electric Cooperative.
FPL already is the state’s largest utility, providing electric service to more than 10 million people.
Some critics have concerns about NextEra and FPL’s large ownership stake in Florida.
Southern in Alliance the for Clean Energy, an energy watchdog group based in Knoxville, Tenn., has raised concerns that a monopoly utility would control a significant percentage of Florida’s energy market.
“Such consolidation of control may limit competition at a time when we need more and not less,” Southern Alliance said in a statement after the acquisitions were announced in May.
NextEra had 2017 revenues of $17.2 billion, 46,790 megawatts of electricity capacity, and about 14,000 employees in 33 states and Canada.