Duke Energy to buy 700 MW of nuclear, coal for $1.2B

Dive Brief:

Duke Energy Progress will buy the 700 megawatt portion of the generation capacity at its Brunswick Nuclear Units 1 and 2 and Harris Nuclear plants and the coal burning Mayo and Roxboro Unit 4 plants owned by the North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA).
Duke will pay $1.2 billion for NCEMPA's interests in the plants, fuel inventories, and spare parts inventories as set by the asset purchase agreement (APA).
Duke will provide a 30-year wholesale power supply agreement to NCEMPA to cover the energy supply needs of customers currently served by the generation being purchased.

Dive Insight:

Completion of the deal is subject to multiple state and federal regulatory approvals. Duke will file the APA with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by early September and immediately notified the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), per its requirement to notify NCUC at least 30 days before the FERC filing.

The deal calls for the transaction to be completed by the end of 2016, pending the approval process. The deal only covers generation assets and is expected to have no impact on the companies’ distribution services or infrastructure.