[StBernard] Federal regulators give OK to Entergy Corp.'s plan to spin off transmission business

[Westley Annis]

Federal regulators give OK to Entergy Corp.'s plan to spin off transmission
business

Print By Richard Thompson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on June 20, 2013 at 1:15 PM, updated June 20, 2013 at 4:40 PM

Federal energy regulators on Thursday approved Entergy Corp.'s plans to get
out of the transmission business.

Faced with the costs of planning and replacing its aging fleet of power
plants and infrastructure, Entergy officials have spent nearly two years
meeting with regulators to build support for its plan to turn over control
of its vast transmission grid to a regional organization, the Midwest
Independent Transmission System.

The company has then proposed spinning off and merging its electric
transmission business with ITC Holdings Corp., a Michigan-based transmission
company, in a $1.78 billion deal that Entergy has said will improve the
grid's performance and help the New Orleans utility giant avoid huge capital
costs.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved both proposals Thursday,
saying the move was "consistent with the public interest."

Entergy has nearly 16,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, covering
a 114,000-square-mile area in six regulatory jurisdictions, from swampy
delta regions to the mountainous Ozarks. ITC boasts about being the nation's
largest independent electricity transmission company.

Michael Burns, an Entergy spokesman, said the approval was "an important
step to achieving the transaction's benefits for the grid, our customers and
our communities."

"We remain focused on addressing the issues of other regulatory agencies
that still must review and approve the transaction before it may proceed,"
Burns said.

Entergy shareholders will own a majority of the combined company's common
stock. The plan is still pending approval by state regulators in the
utility's operating region.