Lawmakers ask FERC to block BlackRock-led $33.4 billion AES takeover
Senator Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers sent FERC a letter dated Sept. 28 asking regulators to reject the deal
Published
Chart: AES, one-minute prices, three sessions
A group of US lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject a BlackRock-led consortium's $33.4 billion acquisition of AES, according to Reuters. The letter, dated Sept. 28, was addressed to FERC Chairman Laura Swett.
The lawmakers argue the deal could raise electricity bills and let data centers benefit at the expense of utility customers, Reuters reported. The deal was agreed in March, with BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners joined by EQT and other investors in the acquisition, which includes debt.
Affiliates of BlackRock, EQT and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund filed an application with FERC in May seeking approval, according to Public Citizen. AES is the parent of utilities Indianapolis Power & Light Company and Dayton Power & Light Company, which together serve nearly 1.1 million customers, Public Citizen said.
FERC has allowed BlackRock's utility deals to proceed before. The regulator gave BlackRock blanket authorization to acquire up to 20% of a utility's voting securities with limited scrutiny, and let its 2024 purchase of Minnesota Power move ahead despite a challenge from Public Citizen and FERC's own reservations, according to the Citizens Action Coalition. Consumer groups led by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project had also urged FERC to block the AES deal, while AES's board, shareholders, who backed it by nearly 98%, and credit rating agencies supported it as a source of capital for grid modernization, Forbes reported.
The letter marks the first direct pushback from Congress on the AES deal itself. It does not force FERC to reject the transaction, but it adds political risk and could lengthen the approval timeline for a deal already priced at $33.4 billion. For BlackRock, the exposure appears specific to this transaction rather than a sign of trouble for its wider infrastructure push, which continues elsewhere through separate talks with IFM over data centers. AES shareholders now face added uncertainty over how long the deal will take to close and whether it closes at all.