Gulf Power Co. and Florida Power & Light Co. on Dec. 18 entered an agreement to formally merge, with FPL as the surviving company, effective Jan. 1, 2021.

NextEra Energy Inc., the parent of both utilities, closed its $4.35 billion acquisition of Gulf Power from Southern Co. in January 2019. In October, NextEra secured approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to merge FPL and Gulf Power.

NextEra has been indicating on quarterly earnings calls and in resource planning documents filed with Florida regulators eventual plans to combine the two utilities.

Upon closing of the merger, FPL will assume on Jan. 1 approximately $815 million of Gulf Power debt from five series of senior notes, with interest rates ranging from 3.10% to 5.10%, and maturity dates ranging from 2022 to 2044, according to a Form 8-K filing.

FPL will also assume Gulf Power's revolving credit facilities, including a syndicated revolver with an available capacity of $900 million maturing in 2025.