The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority has given preliminary approval allowing the United Illuminating Co., the Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and the Connecticut Natural Gas Co. to become subsidiaries of Spain-based Iberdrola S.A. The merger is worth $3 billion. A final ruling is expected in two weeks.
The ruling said the revised application submitted in July by United Illuminating and Iberdrola, in addition to settlement agreement terms and safeguards presented to PURA in September by UIL, Iberdrola and the Office of Consumer Counsel, met Connecticut’s financial, managerial, technical and public interest requirements.
Attorney General George Jepsen said he is pleased with the preliminary ruling because it includes local management control. Also, the utilities will be “ringed off” from any financial risks of the parent company, he added.
In September, New Haven utility parent UIL Holdings reached a settlement with Connecticut’s consumer counsel to clear a major stumbling block. The two sides agreed to a deal to have UIL clean up its former English Station power plant in New Haven, which UIL sold in 2000 but contaminants remain on the site.
Parties to the PURA proceeding have until Dec. 1 to submit written exceptions on the proposed final decision. The PURA commissioners are scheduled to hear oral arguments on the case on Dec. 3, and plan to render a final ruling on Dec. 9.
