§824b Disposition of Property; Consolidations; Purchase of Securities

Summary

Public utilities must get permission from the Commission before they do big deals involving facilities the Commission controls. They need an order first to sell, lease, or give away facilities worth more than $10,000,000; to merge facilities with another party when the value involved is more than $10,000,000; to buy more than $10,000,000 in another public utility’s securities; or to buy an existing generation plant worth more than $10,000,000 that is used for interstate wholesale sales and is under the Commission’s rate rules. Holding companies that include transmitting or electric utilities also must get permission before buying over $10,000,000 in securities or merging with such utilities. The terms “associate company,” “holding company,” and “holding company system” are defined in the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. The Commission must notify state governors and state utility regulators about applications and hold a hearing. It will approve a transaction only if it is in the public interest and does not allow unfair cross-subsidies or the tying up of utility assets for the benefit of an associate company, unless such actions are still in the public interest. The Commission must make fast review rules, identify transactions eligible for expedited review, and decide most applications within 180 days (or toll that deadline for good cause for up to another 180 days). By not later than 180 days after September 28, 2018, the Commission must also require utilities to notify it within 30 days after closing some smaller mergers or consolidations that involve facilities worth more than $1,000,000 and did not need prior approval. The Commission can approve orders with conditions to protect service and can issue follow-up orders for good cause.