Centrica acquires CHP business for new distributed energy division

Centrica has bought a combined heat and power supplier and operator, ENER-G Cogen, for £145 million. Centrica said the business will form part of its new international distributed energy and power business.

ENER-G Cogen has over 30 years’ experience delivering end-to-end CHP solutions for industrial and commercial customers, and has around 1,400 units totalling over 500MW under contract. The business operates predominantly in the UK with operations in the United States, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania. Centrica said the acquisition of ENER-G Cogen (from ENER-G Holdings PLC) would immediately contribute to its cash flow and earnings.

Iain Conn, chief executive of Centrica said: “We are building an international distributed energy and power business, as demand for CHP products and other distributed energy technologies grow. This acquisition strengthens our delivery capability, both in the UK and internationally. The ENER-G Cogen team has an impressive track record in delivering both off-the-shelf and bespoke solutions for a variety of customers, from initial design through to installation, operation and maintenance. This is an important step forward in accelerating our customer-facing strategy to deliver what our business customers need.”

Alan Barlow, managing director of ENER-G Cogen said: “We believe our combined technology offering, sector knowledge and ability to deliver integrated customer focused energy solutions will leave us well placed to grow in the international distributed energy sector.”

In April, Centrica said it was to acquire energy trading and asset management company Neas Energy for £170 million. At the time, Conn said: “This acquisition will allow us to accelerate our energy marketing and trading growth strategy and serve renewable and distributed energy customers at a wholesale level across Europe.”

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