U.S. electric utility giant Duke Energy has agreed to sell an indirect 19.7% stake in its Florida business to infrastructure investor Brookfield for $6 billion in cash, part of which will fund Duke’s increased capital spending plan for the next five years.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Brookfield will invest in Florida Progress, which owns all of Duke Energy Florida. Brookfield will acquire its indirect equity interest in Duke Energy Florida in phases, with Florida Progress receiving $2.8 billion at the first closing expected in early 2026 and another $200 million by the end of 2026. An additional $2 billion will be received in 2027 and the remaining $1 billion will be received in 2028.
Brookfield has the option to fund the total $6 billion investment sooner, Duke Energy said.
A total of $2 billion of the proceeds from the transaction will fund Duke Energy’s increased $87 billion, five-year capital plan, while the remaining $4 billion will be used to displace holding company debt, the firm said.
Duke Energy Florida is a vertically integrated electric utility company providing critical services to 2 million customers across central and western Florida.
“This partnership will create value for all of our communities as we invest in generation, transmission and distribution enhancements that increase reliability, maintain affordability and support future economic development in our state,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president.
All of Duke Energy’s electric utilities serve 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
In recent months, U.S. power utilities have announced billions of U.S. dollars in capital plans for the next few years and are getting a lot of requests from Big Tech for new power capacity in certain areas as the surge in AI and the expansion of data centers drive demand.
Electric utilities in the United States are set to spend $212.1 billion in capex this year alone, which would be a 22.3% annual increase, as they race to secure new electricity supply for data centers, the Financial Times has reported, citing data from Jefferies.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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