WA commission declines appeal of Avista sale rejection

washington-utc

Regulators in Washington state declined to reconsider their rejection of the proposed sale of Avista Corp. to a Canadian utility.

By taking no action on the companies’ petition for reconsideration, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Tuesday denied the petition by Toronto-based Hydro One Limited and Avista.

The commission in early December rejected Hydro One’s proposed $5.3 billion acquisition of Avista. The companies asked the commission for reconsideration on Dec. 17.

The commission found that the proposed merger did not adequately protect Avista or its customers from political and financial risk or provide a net benefit to customers.

Spokane-based Avista serves more than 240,000 electric and nearly 153,000 natural gas customers in eastern Washington. The company also operates in Idaho, Oregon and Montana.

Idaho regulators also denied the sale. (AP)

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