Utilities in the Southwest have seen business, population and technology underpinning investments in natural gas-fired generation and infrastructure, and in Texas, new legislation may be supporting plans for a build-out. 

NGI reviewed recent quarterly and year-end results of electric and gas utilities, in which executives pointed to growth in the customer base, as well as in data centers and manufacturing.

Houston-based NRG Energy Inc., which serves more than 4.5 million electric customers and nearly 800,000 gas customers across 24 states and eight Canadian provinces, has plans to ramp up natural gas-fired generation in Texas. 

Last year, Texans voted to enact the Texas Energy Fund, providing “support for new dispatchable generation,” said NRG interim CEO Lawrence Coben....