AG’s public counsel criticizes PSE merger terms
Email | Print Staff Report | Skagit Valley Herald
August 05, 2008 - 07:11 PM

The state office that works for residential and small business ratepayers Wednesday said even with a recent settlement, a merger between Puget Sound Energy and Australia-based Macquarie Consortium is not in the best interest of ratepayers and exposes customers to too much financial risk.

The state Attorney General’s Public Counsel Section said the settlement between Macquarie and a number of businesses did not offer significant enough protection to ratepayers, and restated Public Counsel opinion that customers are better off if PSE remains publicly traded.

In the settlement Macquarie agreed to invest $200 million to help lower debt and prevent lowering PSE’s BBB- credit rating, to comply with certain New York Stock Exchange disclosure rules and to bar dividends from PSE from paying off its parent companies’ debt.

“Puget customers and Washington’s economy are better off with what they have now,” Public Counsel Simon ffitch said. “A publicly traded, investment-grade utility with improving health and low business risk.”

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