Texas poised to kill Oncor's $18 billion sale to Florida energy giant
NextEra Energy's proposed purchase of Oncor Electric Delivery Co. appears to be dead.
A draft order from the Public Utility Commission, filed late Wednesday afternoon, said the deal is not in the public interest. The item was added to the commission's consent agenda, which means the order could be approved without discussion at Thursday's public hearing in Austin.
Oncor, the state's largest regulated utility, is being sold as part of the bankruptcy reorganization of its parent company, Energy Future Holdings. The value of the sale is over $18 billion, including debt.
The order said NextEra's ownership would subject Oncor and its 3.4 million ratepayers to significant new risks while providing minimal tangible benefits. Weighing those trade-offs and NextEra's insistence on removing certain "ring-fence" protections, "the commission finds that the proposed transactions are not in the public interest, and the application is denied," the draft order said.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/oncor/2017/04/12/texas-poised-kill-oncors-187-billion-sale-florida-energy-giant