American Electric Power (AEP) and Liberty Utilities filed a new application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking approval of the sale of AEP’s Kentucky operations to Liberty.
The companies are asking FERC for expedited review of the application with a goal of closing the $2.6 billion transaction by April 26, 2023.
In December 2022, FERC denied approval of the sale, citing insufficient evidence to show the transaction wouldn’t affect customer rates. The agency outlined the additional information about customer protections needed to obtain approval.
AEP said the new application addresses the concerns raised in FERC’s December 2022 order and that there would be no adverse impact on FERC-jurisdictional customer rates as a result of the transaction.
According to the new application, Liberty, a subsidiary of Canada-based Algonquin Power, would take several measures during the next five years, including: maintaining the return on equity; maintaining the current cost cap on equity; financing future credit investment at the current credit rating; and capping certain operating and administrative costs.
Last September we reported AEP agreed to shave around $200 million off the purchase price after conflicting regulatory decisions sent a pending acquisition deal back to the negotiating table.
Liberty Utilities had originally agreed to buy the assets for approximately $2.85 billion, including around $1.221 billion in debt.
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