The Maryland Public Service Commission is expected to rule within a matter of days on a proposed $6.4 billion merger between WGL Holdings Inc. – more commonly known as Washington Gas – and AltaGas Ltd., a Canadian company.
The Maryland Energy Administration and the companies themselves say the deal benefits ratepayers and will help the state meet its clean energy goals.
But the high-stakes merger has come under fire: from environmental leaders, who argue that the deal encourages natural gas fracking, which is banned in the state; from other energy providers, who claim the state is essentially setting up a slush fund to help the companies after they merge; and from the Office of People’s Counsel, the state’s utility watchdog, which claims it is too financially risky for consumers.
As the Public Service Commission nears its April 4 deadline for ruling on the proposal, most of the back-and-forth on the merger is available for viewing in bulky and arcane written filings before the PSC, which held public hearings on the plan last fall.
Under the proposed merger, which was announced in early 2017, AltaGas would buy WGL Holdings for $4.5 billion and would assume $1.9 billion of the company’s debt.
The state, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, and the Laborers International Union of America, which represents pipeline workers, intervened in the proceedings to win benefits from the companies totaling $161.1 million. That so-called settlement, in official parlance, included $33 million from AltaGas, to be administered by the Maryland Energy Administration, “to kick-start gas expansion efforts throughout the state of Maryland,” and a $70 million commitment by Washington Gas to extend natural gas service to underserved areas in the state.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Kurtz over at Maryland Matters