NRG Steps Back From Alternative Energy Ventures In Cost-Cutting Effort
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NRG Energy, moving to complete its reorganization after the ouster of its chief executive last year, is paring back involvement in two of its alternative energy ventures as it seeks to cut costs and streamline operations, the company announced on May 5.
The company, whose large fleet of conventional power plants has made it a leading independent power producer, will sell a majority stake in its electric vehicle charging business, EVgo. And its home solar division will sell the future customer agreements it originates to two partners, Sunrun and Spruce, once the systems are up and running.
That approach will allow the residential solar business to break even by next year, Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG’s Chief Executive, said in a conference call with analysts.
The company announced a net profit for the first quarter of $47 million in contrast to a net loss of $136 million for the first quarter of 2015. It also announced that Christopher Sotos would be the new Chief Executive for NRG Yield, the publicly traded subsidiary set up to buy the power plants the parent company develops and then pay dividends to investors from the income the plants generate.
Sotos has been on the Board of Directors of NRG Yield since its initial public offering in July 2013, and has been Head of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at NRG Energy since 2012.
The company, whose large fleet of conventional power plants has made it a leading independent power producer, will sell a majority stake in its electric vehicle charging business, EVgo. And its home solar division will sell the future customer agreements it originates to two partners, Sunrun and Spruce, once the systems are up and running.
That approach will allow the residential solar business to break even by next year, Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG’s Chief Executive, said in a conference call with analysts.
Gutierrez’s strategy is more restrained than that of his predecessor, David Crane, who sought to transform the company into the Google of electricity. Gutierrez’s approach to fast-growing new-energy businesses that have generally offered more promise than profit is intended to help the company thrive despite the financial pressures of low wholesale energy prices.
The company announced a net profit for the first quarter of $47 million in contrast to a net loss of $136 million for the first quarter of 2015. It also announced that Christopher Sotos would be the new Chief Executive for NRG Yield, the publicly traded subsidiary set up to buy the power plants the parent company develops and then pay dividends to investors from the income the plants generate.
Sotos has been on the Board of Directors of NRG Yield since its initial public offering in July 2013, and has been Head of Strategy and Mergers & Acquisitions at NRG Energy since 2012.
