Dive Summary:
- In a bid to push through a deal to spin off its transmission system, Entergy and ITC Holdings, the proposed buyer of the assets, are offering to offset rate hikes in exchange for state regulators' approval of the deal.
- Although the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the deal, state regulators have not been anywhere near as enthusiastic, insisting that the expected rate increases have no apparent benefits for consumers.
- The offer to offset rate increases would last through the first five years after the deal; Entergy and ITC claim they will only increase rates after that if they can make the benefits for the customers apparent.
From the article:
Because the local regulators would give up much of their authority to FERC, they fear they wouldn't be able to block overspending.
"Without effective regulatory authority all of the other potential costs and risks of the ITC transaction are magnified because the commission will have no ability to effectively address those as they deem necessary," staff-hired expert R. Lane Sisung testified in Louisiana.