Centrica has handed shareholders an early Christmas present after announcing it would return the profits from selling off its power stations in Texas to them.
The energy giant has struck a £420million cash deal to sell off gas-fired power stations in Paris, Bastrop and Mission to Blackstone.
The stations, which together produce almost 1.3GW of electricity, were owned through the firm’s US subsidiary Direct Energy, which has obtained a three-year call option for an equivalent amount of capacity from Blackstone.
The proceeds from the sale will be channeled back into the company’s share repurchase programme, Centrica said.
“This transaction allows us to realise value from our gas-fired fleet, while ensuring stability of price and supply in the Texas power market through the call option arrangement,” said Direct Energy president Badar Khan.
“Residential retail supply is key to our North American business, and with sufficient generation capacity in Texas, we can support our downstream business through contractual arrangements, rather than asset ownership.”