PSE ACQUISITION BY CANADIAN INVESTORS APPROVED

  • The Associated Press
  • Tuesday, December 30, 2008 12:01am
  • News

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — State regulators have approved the sale of Puget Sound Energy for $7.4 billion to a group of investors from Canada and Australia.

PSE provides electricity to all of East Jefferson County north of Mount Walker.

The state’s largest private utility was sold to New York-based Puget Holdings LLC, the state Utilities and Transportation Commission announced Tuesday. While based in New York, the company is held by foreign investors.

The sale was supported by the commission’s staff, Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities, Northwest Industrial Gas Users, The Kroger Co., The Energy Project and Northwest Energy Coalition. It was opposed by the Public Counsel Section of the Attorney General’s Office.

The commission says it will continue to regulate gas and electric rates and services.

Bellevue-based PSE is the state’s largest electric and natural gas utility, serving more than one million electric and 737,000 natural gas customers, primarily in Western Washington.

There are no natural gas customers in East Jefferson.

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