NRG to Sell 4.9 GW of Gas Plants to LS Power for $4 Billion
NRG agreed on Nov. 9 to sell six gas generation assets to LS Power for $4 billion, with Q3 adjusted EPS at $4.68 from $2.78 and a 1.2 GW data center project still on track.
A gas-fired power plant from LS Power's news page; it is not one of the six NRG assets in the sale.
Image: LS Power
Source · Press image from the LS Power website, used for news reporting.
NRG Energy agreed on Nov. 9 to sell six natural-gas generation assets totaling 4.9 GW to LS Power for $4 billion in cash, the company said in an 8-K filing. The price is subject to working capital and other closing adjustments.
The six assets are Ravenswood in the New York grid (NYISO), Ocean State Power and Wallingford in New England (ISO-NE), and Jack County, Johnson County and R.W. Miller in Texas (ERCOT), according to NRG's separate sale release. Closing is targeted for the second quarter of 2027, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) antitrust clearance, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval and New York State Public Service Commission (NYSPSC) approval. The price implies 8.0 times 2027 enterprise value to adjusted EBITDA, NRG said. The sale keeps NRG's entire PJM portfolio and the CPower business it bought in January 2026.
NRG announced the deal with its third-quarter results, which Voltgrid News had listed in its week-ahead preview of earnings dates. Its 1.2 GW bring-your-own-power (BYOP) data center project, the release said, remains on track.
Q3 2026 results against Q3 2025
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026, NRG reported adjusted net income of $983 million, up from $537 million a year earlier. Adjusted EPS was $4.68 against $2.78, and adjusted EBITDA was $2,013 million against $1,205 million. GAAP net income was $561 million against $152 million, and free cash flow before growth investments was $1,242 million against $828 million.
NRG attributed the gain mainly to the generation portfolio it acquired from LS Power, higher realized capacity prices in the East and higher margins in Texas, including favorable weather. East adjusted EBITDA was $614 million, up from $107 million, and Texas was $1,018 million, up from $807 million. Higher depreciation and interest expense tied to the acquired assets partly offset the gain.
2027 guidance and capital allocation
NRG reaffirmed 2026 guidance of $7.90 to $9.90 adjusted EPS and $5,325 million to $5,825 million adjusted EBITDA. It initiated 2027 guidance of $8.05 to $10.05 adjusted EPS, $5,500 million to $6,000 million adjusted EBITDA and $2,900 million to $3,400 million free cash flow before growth investments. The 2027 ranges do not reflect the 4.9 GW sale, and NRG expects to update them after closing.
Proceeds support a plan for $3 billion of share repurchases across 2026 and 2027, including an incremental $1 billion expected to begin before the end of the fourth quarter of 2026. NRG also plans $2 billion of extra debt reduction at closing, for $3 billion of planned 2027 debt reduction in total. The remaining $1 billion is earmarked for contracted growth investments or more debt reduction.
What it means for data center supply
After the sale, NRG expects to own and operate 20 GW nationwide, split between 10 GW in ERCOT and 10 GW in PJM, against the approximately 25 GW it cites today. It also expects 1.1 GW more to be operating in ERCOT by 2028 through its remaining two Texas Energy Fund projects. In the Q3 release, NRG describes BYOP as bringing new, dispatchable generation alongside load growth; it gave no site, customer, cost or in-service date for the 1.2 GW project. For another independent power producer's quarter, see Constellation's Q3 results, published the same day.
NRG expects to own and operate 20 GW after selling 4.9 GW to LS Power, against the approximately 25 GW it cites today (NRG releases).
The sale has not closed and still needs HSR, FERC and NYSPSC approvals. NRG will publish updated 2027 guidance and a revised capital allocation plan only after closing, so the 2027 figures above exclude the six plants' sale.