Attorney General George Jepsen is urging the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control to reverse its decision not to review the proposed $17.5 billion merger of Hartford’s Northeast Utilities and Boston’s NStar.
On Wednesday, DPUC issued a draft decision – following up on its already stated conditions – that it has no authority to review the merger as there is no clear change in corporate control in the utilities. The merger will result in six electric and natural gas utilities coming under the umbrella of one corporation, although the corporate make-up of Connecticut’s Yankee Gas and Connecticut Light & Power will not change.
Because of the impact on consumers, Jepsen said Monday that DPUC does have authority over the merger, as after the deal NU will have an NStar executive as CEO, based out of Boston. The board of directors will be made up of NU and NStar seats, and 44 percent of the stock will be held by NStar investors.
“This merger has enormous potential ramifications in Connecticut. It is important that any impact on consumers be considered and weighed and any necessary conditions to protect them be imposed before this merger goes through,” Jepsen said.
The merger, announced in October, is expected to be complete before the fourth quarter. The new company will be called Northeast Utilities and have dual headquarters in Boston and Hartford. Although several national approvals are needed, the only state reviewing the merger for approval is Massachusetts.
