Wednesday, August 27, 2008

PSC vote on Iberdrola-Energy East merger delayed

Colleague Larry Rulison reports this surprising development from this morning’s state Public Service Commission meeting:

Two commissioners were absent from the special session at which a vote was expected on Iberdrola S.A.’s $4.5 billion acquisition of Energy East Corp.

“We will not be making a final determination today,” PSC Chairman Garry Brown said.

Instead, Sept. 3 has been set as a tentative date for the vote, said agency spokesman James Denn.

No reason was given for the absence of commissioners Robert Curry and Cheryl Buley.

Discussion of the merger was scheduled to proceed, however. “Today we will go through the final discussions,” Brown said.

Rulison reported a capacity crowd at the session, held in Albany. He said those attending appeared shocked by the development; Iberdrola representatives looked frustrated.

Iberdrola, the world’s largest wind farm developer, proposed the Energy East acquisition last year. Maine-based Energy East operates two New York utilities, Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric & Gas. NYSEG serves 1.3 million customers in upstate New York, including parts of the Capital Region and the North Country.

Iberdrola is a 50 percent owner in the 321-megawatt Maple Ridge Wind Farm in Lewis County, New York’s largest, and also is developing 10 other projects around the state worth a combined $2 billion.

It is that ownership of electricity production capacity that has dominated discussions on the merger, since New York deregulated its electric market a decade ago to separate production and transmission in an effort to encourage competition and lower utility rates.

No comments: