Chesapeake Utilities has expanded its customer base and natural gas infrastructure in Florida, US, with the completion of the acquisition of Florida City Gas (FCG) from NextEra Energy in a deal valued at $923m.

The deal between Chesapeake Utilities and NextEra Energy was signed in September 2023.

FCG, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake, caters to some 120,000 residential and commercial natural gas customers across Florida.

Its natural gas network is made up of more than 6,115km of distribution main pipeline and 128km of transmission pipeline.

FCG has operations in Brevard, Broward, Indian River, Martin, Miami-Dade Hendry, Palm Beach and St Lucie counties.

Chesapeake Utilities chairman, president and CEO Jeff Householder said: "We are pleased to formally welcome Florida City Gas and excited about the opportunities we can pursue given our combined capabilities. The integration of our businesses creates a compelling foundation: one focused on driving sustainable earnings growth consistent with our long-term track record.

“Together, we’ll strengthen our Florida presence, leveraging our core competencies and building upon our strong community and regulatory relationships, while continuing to meet the growing demand for natural gas.”

Chesapeake Utilities said the ‘transformative transaction’ more than doubles its operations in Florida and increases the regulated utility business combination.

As part of the upcoming five-year capital investment plan, Chesapeake Utilities plans to allocate 60% of the capital to Florida, including investments related to pipeline replacement programmes, to increase transmission capabilities.

With the acquisition, Chesapeake Utilities expects to serve more than 211,000 customers through a network of approximately 11,265km of natural gas distribution pipelines.

NextEra Energy chairman, president and CEO John Ketchum earlier said: “This transaction allows us to continue our strategy of redeploying capital into our core businesses.”