NRG Energy just scored federal approval for one of the biggest power-sector acquisitions of the decade — a $12 billion deal to buy nearly 13 GW of gas-fired generation and a major demand-response platform from LS Power. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) signed off on the sale Friday.
NRG is one of the country’s largest competitive power companies, owning plants and selling electricity in deregulated markets where generators compete to keep the grid supplied.
If completed, the transaction would roughly double NRG’s generating fleet at a moment when U.S. power demand is climbing sharply due to data centers, new manufacturing, and widespread electrification. NRG says that timing is the point: with new gas plants years away from coming online and grid pressures mounting, companies with existing, ready-to-run generation will be positioned to deliver some of the most valuable capacity in the market.
The approval lets NRG buy a large bundle of LS Power assets: nearly 13 gigawatts of gas-fired power plants across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Texas, and New England — enough electricity to power millions of homes. The deal also brings in CPower, a company that coordinates large businesses to cut or shift their electricity use during peak times — adding flexible capacity that can steady the grid much like a power plant would.
If the deal closes, NRG’s footprint in PJM — the country’s largest electricity market — will grow sharply, from roughly 2 gigawatts of generation to more than 9 gigawatts. The company will also expand its presence in New York, Texas, and New England through additional power plants included in the sale.
The transaction still requires approval from the New York State Public Service Commission, but the companies expect to close early next year. LS Power will receive $6.4 billion in cash, an 11% equity stake in NRG, and NRG will assume $3.2 billion in LS Power debt.
The deal follows NRG’s May purchase of Rockland Capital’s 738-MW stake in six Texas gas plants — another sign the company is consolidating generation capacity as power markets tighten.
FERC’s approval signals how federal regulators are thinking about market concentration at a time when the real constraint isn’t competition — it’s capacity. As demand accelerates and new-build timelines lengthen, the system increasingly depends on companies that can deliver megawatts now. If load growth continues as forecast, this may not be the last mega-merger in the race to secure reliable power.
