NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. It was formerly the wholesale arm of Northern States Power Company (NSP), which became Xcel Energy, but became independent in 2000. NRG Energy is involved in energy generation and retail electricity. Their portfolio includes natural gas generation, coal generation, oil generation, nuclear generation, wind generation, utility-scale generation, and distributed solar generation. NRG serves over 7 million retail customers in 24 US states including Texas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio; the District of Columbia, and eight provinces in Canada.
NRG Energy has acquired eleven other energy companies, both generation and retail, that include Reliant Energy, XOOM Energy, Green Mountain Energy, Stream Energy, GenOn Energy, Discount Power and Cirro Energy. As of 2018, they generate 23,000 MW of power from 40 power plants across the country. They incorporate a range of sales channels for retail customers, including call centers, direct sales, websites, brokers, and brick-and-mortar stores. Their wholesale generation services include plant operations, commercial operations, energy services, distributed generation services, and energy, procurement, and construction (EPC) services.
History
1980s–1990s
NRG Energy was formed in 1989 as one of NSP's wholly-owned subsidiaries. In 1997, NRG Energy, Inc. had 2,650 MW of generation and operational responsibility for a supplementary 5,374 MW. By 1998, the company began an aggressive acquisition campaign. It bought plants from Niagara Mohawk, San Diego Gas and Electric, Consolidated Edison, Montaup Electric, Rochester Gas and Electric, and Connecticut Light & Power. They continued to grow through acquisitions and in 2000, acquired Cajun Electric Power Cooperative's facilities.
2000s
In 2001, NRG Energy had a net ownership of 24,357 MW of generation globally, with 19,077 MW in the United States. From 1996 to 2001, the operating revenue increased from $104 million to $3 billion, and the debt increased from $212 million to $8.3 billion. By 2002, the debt had reached $9.4 billion, and NRG Energy sold its power plants in Hungary and the Czech Republic. To avert default by NRG, Xcel sold $500 million in stock in July 2002. In 2003, Xcel Energy paid NRG Energy $752 million for the benefit of NRG Energy's creditors and took a $2 billion write-off.
On May 14, 2003, NRG Energy filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. In the company's reorganization, Xcel Energy relinquished its ownership interest, and NRG Energy became an independent, public company after bankruptcy. David W. Crane joined NRG as the chief executive in December. The reorganized NRG Energy eliminated about $5.2 billion of corporate debt along with $1.2 billion of additional claims by giving equity and cash to unsecured creditors.
By 2005, NRG Energy expanded again and added 7,600 MW of domestic capacity to its portfolio. The company acquired Dynegy's 50% of 1,800 MW of generation in California. They also acquired Texas GenCo in 2006, Reliant Energy in 2009, and Green Mountain Energy in 2010. The company began to focus on domestic markets and retreated from international electricity markets.
2010s
By 2011, NRG Energy's generation portfolio had 25,135 MW, with only 1,000 MW outside of the United States. In 2012, they added GenOn Energy for $1.7 billion and in 2013, they added Edison Mission for $2.6 billion. This gave the company 46,000 MW total of generation capacity. In 2013, they also added a demand response company: Energy Curtailment Specialists, Inc. The business later became NRG Curtailment Solutions, Inc.
During December 2015, NRG Energy released David Crane of his duty and Mauricio Gutierrez, the Chief Operating Officer at the time, was brought on as Chief Executive and President of NRG Energy. That same month, NRG's shares rose by 63% and closed at $17.90 after it had fallen by 60% in 2015. For the first three months of 2016, the company posted a net income of $47 million in comparison to the net loss of $136 million the first quarter of 2015. Gutierrez stated that paying down debt was a top priority.