The Sun Still Rises

By Kyle Massey – Arkansas Business

Today’s Power Inc. of Little Rock, the electric co-op subsidiary that builds solar power stations, is making hay while the sun shines.

It may not surprise you that the company is keeping to a rigorous construction schedule despite the COVID-19 outbreak, but it has also confirmed issuing $21.35 million in privately placed bonds to replace short-term construction financing with long-term debt.

The bond issue was detailed in a Securities & Exchange Commission filing March 24 and confirmed Thursday by TPI President Michael Henderson and marketing and PR coordinator Jennah Denney.

Along with running Today’s Power, Henderson is executive vice president and chief financial officer of its parent company, the Arkansas Electric Cooperative, Incorporated.

“TPI just recently was successful in issuing privately placed bonds under Reg D [of the Securities Act of 1933] in the amount of $21,350,000,” Denney told Whispers in an email. “The filing with the SEC is informational, and these are not publicly traded bonds.”

She added that crews are staying busy during the coronavirus crisis, with employees working remotely and installation crews taking extra precautions. “We are currently under construction with several projects,” Denney said. “This team is not slowing down.”

Crews & Associates of Little Rock handled the bond issue, in which Today’s Power paid a finder’s fee of $427,000. Denney called that charge consistent with the market and term of the issue. “TPI used local entities for the parties involved, including the placement agent and attorneys,” she said, without identifying those involved.

The SEC documents list a North Little Rock address for Today’s Power, which will be moving soon from AECC’s Little Rock campus off I-30 at 81st Street. As Arkansas Business reported last month, Today’s Power paid $1.75 million for the new site, a 34,222-SF office-warehouse on Industry Drive in North Little Rock. The seller was the Goodrich Corp. of Charlotte, North Carolina, which had paid $2.1 million for the property in 2010.

“We are beginning our transition to the new facility, and beginning to use the new address,” Denney said, though a date for the move has not been announced.