The proposed sale of Avista Corporation to a Canadian company came under intense scrutiny from Washington regulators this week.
The state Utilities and Transportation Commission held a lengthy hearing in Olympia on Tuesday, with members asking how they could protect Northwest customers from bad decisions by the Ontario government. Hydro One is trying to buy Avista for 5.3 billion. The three-member commission says the prospect of government interference is real, as the province is Hydro One’s largest shareholder, with a 47 percent ownership stake in the Toronto-based utility.
In July, after Ontario voters elected a premier who promised to lower electric rates and cut executive pay, Hydro One’s CEO Mayo Schmidt retired and its 10-member board resigned. The agreement specifies that Avista’s headquarters will remain in Spokane, and it provides more than $30 million in rate credits to Washington ratepayers over five years, among other things.
For the sale to go through, the commission must determine Avista’s acquisition is in the best interest of the utility’s Washington customers. The commission has a mid-December deadline to render a decision.
In Montana and Alaska, public utility commissions already have approved the sale, while deliberations continue in Idaho and Oregon. (Spokesman-Review, AP)
