This Data Dispatch will be updated throughout 2021 to tally capital offerings in the U.S. utilities industry. Click here for a spreadsheet listing all utility capital offerings since January 2009.

The U.S. electric, gas and water utility sector closed out the year 2020 with $133.93 billion in capital raises, a 34% increase from $99.88 billion raised in 2019, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The total comprised of $111.28 billion of senior debt, $16.75 billion of common equity, $4.98 billion of subordinated debt and $900 million of preferred equity.

Electric utilities raised $94.92 billion in capital during the year, compared to $65.72 billion in 2019. Capital offerings among multi-utilities totaled $27.10 billion, compared to $23.0 billion as of Dec. 31, 2019. Gas utilities sold $10.60 billion of securities in 2020, up from $7.62 billion in 2019. Elsewhere, water utilities offered $1.31 billion in capital offerings in 2020, down from $3.54 billion in 2019.

In December 2020, the utilities raised a total capital of $3.86 billion from 13 transactions, led by Edison International subsidiary Southern California Edison Co., Dominion Energy Inc. subsidiary Dominion Energy Virginia and Consolidated Edison Inc.

Southern California Edison sold $900 million of series 2020D floating-rate first and refunding mortgage bonds to partially repay a credit facility and commercial paper borrowings; Dominion Energy Virginia, known legally as Virginia Electric and Power Co., issued $900 million of 2020 series A 2.45% senior notes to repay short-term debt; and Consolidated Edison sold $552.7 million worth of common equity to repay a portion of its existing term loan.