Greg Nemet, a UW-Madison professor who specializes in energy policy, said utilities need to begin shutting down gas plants, and acquisitions like this cast doubt on ambitious decarbonization goals. “We want to see less demand for gas-fired electricity, not new purchases of it,” Nemet said. “If we are trying to reduce emissions by 80% in the next eight years, we should be investing rapidly and heavily in clean energy and energy efficiency.”