Council authorizes Lubbock Power & Light to engage Latham & Watkins for generation-asset sale work

The City Council on Sept. 23 approved a resolution authorizing Lubbock Power & Light (LP&L) to enter an engagement agreement with Latham & Watkins LLP for legal services related to negotiations on power‑generation asset sales.

Joel Ivey, chief administrative officer for LP&L, told the council the utility exited active generation in October 2003 and has been seeking buyers or operators for remaining generation assets. “We actually exited the generation business in October 2003. And since then, we've been looking for ways to divest our generation assets,” Ivey said. He said LP&L has already completed some sales and is negotiating another opportunity for which outside counsel assistance is needed.

Ivey described the requested authorization as enabling LP&L to contract with Latham & Watkins to assist in the ongoing sale negotiations; the Electric Utility Board had unanimously recommended approval. He said staff hopes to finalize a sale within roughly the next year, depending on negotiations.

The council voted unanimously to authorize the engagement agreement. No substantive details of the prospective sale were disclosed in open session; Ivey said staff would provide additional information as negotiations progress and as disclosure rules allow.

The resolution directs LP&L to proceed with the engagement under the oversight of the city’s legal and utility staff and follows the Electric Utility Board’s recommendation to pursue outside counsel for transactions of this complexity.