Iberdrola maintains its investments in the US
Iberdrola maintains its investment commitment in the United States, despite the decision by the New Mexico state regulator to veto the purchase of PNM Resources. The strategic plan of the group chaired by Ignacio Sánchez Galán for the period 2020-2025 foresees investments of close to 30 billion dollars (around 26,575 million euros) in the United States to grow in transmission and distribution networks and in renewables -onshore and offshore wind and solar-.
Iberdrola has been present in the United States for 17 years, where it is one of the largest electricity groups, with a presence in 25 states, and one of the three largest renewable energy companies, with close to 10,000 megawatts (MW). The company has an asset value of 40,000 million dollars (around 35,435 million euros) in the country, almost a quarter of its global assets.
Iberdrola, through its US subsidiary Avangrid, and PNM will take "the appropriate measures in defence of their interests, considering that the decision taken is not the right one".
It is not the first operation to be rejected by US state regulators. In the electricity sector in the country, some commissions have been rejected in recent years in operations such as Exelon-PSE&G, NextEra-Oncor, NextEra-HECO, Exelon-Pepco, Grain Plains Energy and Westar Energy, Hydro One and Avista KG&E-KCP&L, SCE-SDG&E and FPL-Constellation.
Avangrid's deal with PNM Resources was only pending approval from the New Mexico regulator, after having received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and federal approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Hart-Scott-Rodino Clearance (HSR), the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), among others.
The acquisition of PNM represented an implied enterprise value of approximately USD 8.3 billion (approximately EUR 7.007 billion), taking into account net debt plus adjustments of approximately EUR 3.377 billion.
The purchase would create one of the largest companies in the North American sector, with ten regulated utilities in six states (New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas) and the third largest renewables operator in the country, with a total presence in 24 states.
Iberdrola, through Avangrid, distributes electricity and gas in New York, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, serving a population of 10 million Americans.
In offshore wind, a technology in which the energy company is a world leader, it is building the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States -Vineyard Wind of 800 MW-, which will be operational in 2023/24, with an investment of 3,000 million dollars (around 2,658 million euros), for Massachusetts.
It is also developing a wind farm of the same size and investment (800 MW, USD 3 billion) for Connecticut (Park City Wind) to be operational in 2025/26.
In addition, it is awaiting a decision for a new 1,200 MW offshore wind farm for Massachusetts, with an investment of another USD 3 billion plus. The decision is expected on 17 December. It also has a project of up to 2,500 MW in North Carolina.
