Texas public power utility Kerrville Public Utility Board on Dec. 12 announced that its inaugural Public Facility Corporation bond issuance, supporting the construction of KPUB’s new 122-megawatt natural gas-fired generation facility, has been named the 2025 Small Issuer Financing Deal of the Year by The Bond Buyer.
The Bond Buyer is a nationally recognized daily publication that covers public finance, municipal bonds and capital market trends, and its Deal of the Year program is widely regarded as one of the industry’s highest honors. The annual awards recognize winners in 10 categories, and KPUB was selected as the Small Issuer Financing winner.
The award was presented at The Bond Buyer’s annual Deal of the Year Awards Gala in New York City, where municipal finance leaders from across the country gathered to celebrate the year’s most innovative and high-impact municipal financings.
"The national recognition marks a significant milestone for KPUB’s generation project and its commitment to delivering reliable, low-cost power to its customers," the utility noted.
The Bond Buyer’s editorial board considered a range of factors when judging entries, including creativity, the ability to pull a complex transaction together under challenging conditions, the potential to serve as a model for other financings and the public purpose for which a deal’s proceeds were used.
Earlier this year, KPUB became the first generation project in Texas — and the only municipally owned utility — to execute a loan agreement under the newly established Texas Energy Fund (TEF), following a ceremonial signing with leadership from the Public Utility Commission of Texas in Austin.
Alongside this historic TEF loan, KPUB completed the issuance of tax-exempt revenue bonds, finalizing a comprehensive financing strategy that fully funds the utility’s generation project.
The facility will be located in Colorado County, approximately 10 miles south of Columbus, Texas, on a site selected for its strong infrastructure and access to four major natural gas pipelines. The plant will be built adjacent to the existing Sky Global Power One power plant, which is built, owned and operated by Sky Global Partners. This proximity enables KPUB to leverage established and proven infrastructure, ensuring a reliable project, it noted.
The new plant builds on the success of Sky Global Power One, which operated at 99.6% availability during Winter Storm Uri despite widespread challenges across the state. Like its neighbor, KPUB’s facility will utilize advanced reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) technology, incorporating six high-efficiency units supplied by Everllence (formerly MAN Energy Solutions). Sky Global Partners — the developer and long-term operator of Sky Global Power One — will also oversee the development and operations of KPUB’s plant, ensuring consistent expertise and performance across both facilities.
"The Bond Buyer’s recognition underscores the creativity and rigor of KPUB’s financing approach, positioning the utility for long-term affordability and reliability," the utility said.
KPUB’s Assistant General Manager Amy Dozier spearheaded the project’s financing strategy, guiding the generation project through its inaugural entry into the public capital markets and helping the utility structure a model that other small issuers can look to when addressing critical infrastructure needs.
“Power demand across the state continues to grow, leading to higher and more volatile power supply costs,” Dozier said. “Investing in natural gas-fired dispatchable generation is a proactive measure to shield our customers from those rising costs. This award, along with our strong bond rating and selection as the first Texas Energy Fund loan recipient, demonstrates the strength of our innovative financing plan and affirms the project’s role in KPUB’s long-term rate stability strategy.”
Construction on the facility is scheduled to begin this spring, with commercial operations targeted for summer 2027. As KPUB continues powering forward with this transformative generation project, the utility remains committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable electric service to the Hill Country community.
"The honor received in New York underscores the national significance of KPUB’s work and highlights a forward-looking investment that will benefit both local customers and the state’s electric grid for generations to come," KPUB said.
