Constellation just agreed to sell a 4.4 GW natural gas-fired generation portfolio in PJM to LS Power for $5 billion.
This is the DOJ’s price for letting Constellation buy Calpine. Back in January, Constellation closed the largest power generation deal in recent memory. They paid $16.4 billion to acquire Calpine, creating the world’s largest private-sector power producer, already with over 32,400 MW of nuclear, gas, wind, solar, and hydro.
But with that came antitrust scrutiny. The DOJ and FERC required Constellation to sell some assets in PJM. Constellation just sold the biggest chunk, including the Hay Road, Edge Moor, Bethlehem, York 1, and York 2 facilities.
The price tag comes out to $1,142/kW for the gas plants. That’s a bet that dispatchable generation in PJM is going to be incredibly valuable for the foreseeable future. Demand isn’t slowing down. Data centers, manufacturing, and electrification is all hitting the same grid that already struggles with capacity.
Reliability has a price. And right now, gas is the only thing that can deliver it at scale.
