AES Announces Strategic Partnership with CDPQ to Support AES Ohio’s Robust Growth Plans

ARLINGTON, Virginia and MONTREAL, September 17, 2024 /CNW/ – AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to sell an indirect 30% interest in AES Ohio to CDPQ, a global investment group, for approximately 546 million US dollarswith a closing scheduled for the first half of 2025.

This agreement expands the existing partnership between AES and CDPQ within AES Indiana and creates a similar ownership structure for both utilities, with no change in management or operational control of AES Ohio. CDPQ’s partnership with AES, now within the two U.S. utilities, will provide continued funding to support strong growth ahead.

“We have a history of successfully integrating strategic partners into our business to support our growth initiatives. CDPQ is a long-standing partner of AES and this transaction marks another important milestone for AES Ohio, enabling us to increase the capital investments needed to meet the growing needs of our customers,” said Andrés Gluski, President and CEO of AES.

AES Ohio plans to invest more than 1.5 billion US dollars from 2024 to 2027 to improve system reliability through massive investments in transmission infrastructure and grid modernization improvements (AES Ohio’s 2023 rate base was 1,564 million US dollars). AES Ohio recently entered into a settlement agreement for Phase 2 of its Smart Grid program, which, if approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), will allow to invest more than 240 million US dollars over a four-year period to deploy smart technology that will significantly improve the system. With these necessary investments, AES Ohio projects compound annual growth in the rate base between 2015 and 2027.

Additionally, AES Ohio sees potential for additional investment to meet growing data center demand, which could increase system peak load by more than 50% by the end of the decade. This growth will be transformative for the company and demonstrates the value of AES’ broader portfolio to serve large technology customers.

Under this agreement, CDPQ commits to fund its pro rata share of AES Ohio’s near-term capital needs to support AES Ohio’s broad growth plans, including incremental growth opportunities arising from new data centers in the service territory.

“AES has been a great partner to Caisse for 10 years and we have supported them in modernizing and decarbonizing their operations at AES Indiana since then,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, Senior Vice President and Chief Infrastructure Officer at Caisse. “We are now entering a new chapter in our relationship to support AES Ohio’s growth plans. This is a unique opportunity to invest alongside a trusted partner in regulated assets that play an important role in meeting the electricity demand of more than half a million customers.”

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“AES Ohio is committed to providing reliable energy to enable economic growth and job creation,” said Ken ZagzebskiPresident of AES Utilities Division. “Our partnership with CDPQ will support the growth of AES Ohio 1.5 billion US dollars “We have implemented an investment program to strengthen our system and support growing data center demand, which could potentially increase our peak load by more than 50% by the end of the decade.”

This transaction is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2025. With this sale, AES will have achieved more than 2.7 billion US dollars of his 3.5 billion US dollars asset sales target for the period 2023 to 2027.

This agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals, including from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohiothe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the united states.

About AES

AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global energy company accelerating the future of energy. Together with our many stakeholders, we improve lives by delivering the greener, smarter energy solutions the world needs. Our diverse people are committed to continuous innovation and operational excellence, while partnering with our customers on their strategic energy transitions and continuing to meet their energy needs today. For more information, visit www.aes.com.

About the CDPQ

At CDPQ, we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group that manages funds from public pension and insurance plans, we work with our partners to build businesses that drive performance and progress. We are active in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. June 30, 2024The net assets of the CDPQ amount to 452 billion Canadian dollars. For more information, visit cdpq.comcheck out our LinkedIn Or Instagram pages, or follow us on X.

CDPQ is a registered trademark owned by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and used under license by its subsidiaries.

AES Safe Harbor Disclosure

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those related to the completion of the transactions contemplated by the agreement with CDPQ, the execution of our future investment plans and future earnings, growth and financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements are not intended to guarantee future results, but rather represent AES’s current expectations based on reasonable assumptions. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding (a) the completion of the transactions contemplated by the CDPQ Agreement on the terms and timing anticipated or not, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and (b) accurate projections of future interest rates, commodity prices and foreign currency prices, continued normal levels of operating performance and electricity volume in our distribution companies and operating performance in our generation operations consistent with historical levels, as well as the execution of the PPAs, the conversion of our order backlog and growth investments to normalized investment levels and rates of return consistent with historical experience.

Actual results could differ materially from those projected in our forward-looking statements due to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Important factors that could affect actual results are discussed in AES’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including, but not limited to, the risks discussed in Item 1A: “Risk Factors” and Item 7: “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” of AES’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the SEC. Readers are encouraged to read AES’s filings for additional information on risk factors associated with AES’s business. AES undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Any shareholder who wishes to obtain a copy of AES’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 26, 2024 A copy of the SEC’s filing (excluding any attachments) may be obtained without charge by directing a request to the Office of the Corporate Secretary, The AES Corporation, 4300 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22203. Supporting documents may also be requested, but a fee equal to the cost of reproducing them will be charged. A copy of the Annual Report on Form 10-K may be obtained by visiting the AES website at www.aes.com.

AES Website Disclosure

AES uses its website, including its quarterly updates, as a distribution channel for AES information. Information published by AES through these channels may be considered material. Accordingly, investors should monitor our website, in addition to AES press releases, quarterly SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. In addition, you may automatically receive email alerts and other information about AES when you register your email address by visiting the “Subscribe to Alerts” page of the AES Investor Website. The content of AES’s website, including its quarterly updates, is not, however, incorporated by reference into this release.

SOURCE CDPQ

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