Dive Summary:
- Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a plan for Entergy to spin off, then merge its electric transmission business with ITC Holdings Corp.
- The New Orleans-based Entergy and Michigan-based ITC are working in several states to divest Entergy's high-voltage power delivery assets into an ITC subsidiary called ITC Midsouth LLC. Entergy will gain gross cash proceeds of $1.78 billion from indebtedness derived from the transaction.
- Entergy reported that its four-state network across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas might require up to $2 billion in upgrades over the next few years. Going forward, the ITC deal will address “challenges facing the entire electric industry - challenges driven by the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize equipment and meet growing environmental and compliance requirements,” Entergy said.
From the article:
“As a prerequisite to the ITC deal, Entergy has joined the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), an independent regional transmission organization where ITC already operates.”