Cleco Holdings
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric utility |
| Predecessor | Central Louisiana Electric Company |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Headquarters | Pineville , United States |
Area served | Louisiana, Mississippi |
| Products | Electricity generation and distribution |
Number of employees | 1300 |
Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC, previously known as the Central Louisiana Electric Company, is an electric utility firm based in Pineville, Louisiana. It operates the regulated utility known as Cleco Power, which provides electricity to nearly 290,000 retail customers spread across 24 parishes in Louisiana, and also oversees an unregulated wholesale electricity segment.
History
The company's origins date back to 1906 with the establishment of a 25 kWh steam-powered generating station in Bunkie, Louisiana. By 1935, the organization transitioned from Louisiana Ice & Utilities to Louisiana Ice & Electric Company, marking its shift from ice production to electrical generation. In 1945, it adopted the name Central Louisiana Electric Company (CLECO), and later rebranded as Cleco Corp in 1998.
On March 28, 2016, the Louisiana Public Service Commission authorized the $4.9 billion acquisition of Cleco by a group led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, alongside British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, John Hancock Financial, and other investors. Following this transaction, the company restructured into Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC in April 2016.
In February 2018, Cleco revealed intentions to purchase NRG South Central Generating LLC from NRG Energy, which included eight power plants with a combined capacity of 3,555 MW, thereby enhancing its portfolio of wholesale power contracts within Louisiana. This acquisition was completed through its unregulated subsidiary Cleco Cajun LLC. Notably, the Cottonwood facility located in Texas remains leased to NRG until 2025. The deal was anticipated to finalize by the end of 2018 pending regulatory approvals.
In 2019, Cleco brought online the St. Mary Clean Energy Center in Franklin, Louisiana—a 50 MW installation designed to produce electricity without increasing emissions.
April 2022 saw Cleco Power initiate Project Diamond Vault at its Brame Energy Center, aiming to retrofit the Madison 3 plant with carbon capture and storage technology capable of eliminating over 95% of carbon dioxide emissions. Later that year, Cleco collaborated with D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments on a long-term renewable energy contract for a 240 MWac solar project situated on the former Dolet Hills lignite mine site in DeSoto Parish.
Operations
Serving roughly 290,000 customers across 24 parishes out of Louisiana’s total of 64, Cleco employs about 1,300 individuals through its retail operations. Additionally, it provides wholesale electricity services in both Louisiana and Mississippi.
The company operates nine generating stations with a collective nameplate capacity of 3,035 megawatts. Its infrastructure includes approximately 12,000 miles of distribution lines and around 1,300 miles of transmission lines.