UPDATED: $5.3 Billion National Grid Sale to PPL Delayed - Judge Stern Sides With Neronha
Saturday, April 02, 2022
Superior Court Judge Brian Stern issued a 21-page decision on Friday finding for RI Attorney General Peter Neronha’s petition to block the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers' approval of the $5.3 billion deal selling National Grids holdings to PPL.
The Division had approved the mega-deal last month and Neronha filed to block the deal. Stern's decision stops the deal from moving forward in the short-term.
“Petitioner’s [Peter Neronha] Emergency Motion to Stay the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers’ Order is granted. This Court recognizes the importance of the underlying transaction in this matter and the impact the transaction will have on Rhode Island as a whole,” wrote Stern.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“This Court also recognizes that an expeditious resolution of the administrative appeal currently before the Court is in the best interests of all parties. Consequently, the Court’s previously issued Scheduling Order for the underlying APA appeal remains in full force and effect with oral argument to be heard on April 12, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. The Court will issue an order consistent with this Decision contemporaneously with the issuance of this Decision,” Stern added
Stern cited in a footnote in his decision that “Evidently, the Hearing Officer desires that the approval process be streamlined because he believes it is unduly time-consuming and expensive to adjudicate and places an undue burden on the energy companies. However, the Transaction is one of the largest transactions in this State’s history (at approximately $5.3 billion), impacting a large portion of businesses and residents within the State.”
Stern added, “Thus, although this Court agrees that efficiency is an important consideration, efficiency cannot be prioritized over the level of diligence required for a transaction of this magnitude.”
Stern added, “Notably, the Hearing Officer herein makes broad sweeping statements without any citation to statute, case law, or applicable regulations to support these propositions.
Neronha said in a statement to GoLocal, "We are grateful for the issuance of the stay, and look forward to litigating this matter on the merits."
The attorney general said he moved to block the transfer for a range of reasons. "As detailed in court filings, my Office has appealed the decision on the grounds that it does not sufficiently provide assurances that the sale is in the best interests of Rhode Islanders, including whether or not: the sale would result in degradation of services or significant rate increases; PPL is capable of creating an effective storm response without increasing costs to ratepayers; PPL can provide necessary IT services without increasing costs to ratepayers; and PPL can effectively work with the state to meet emissions and other goals required by the Act on Climate. Additionally, the decision did not consider whether PPL had a viable post-transaction financial plan, nor was one submitted. I am not alone in raising these issues —the DPUC’s own attorneys and experts expressed serious unresolved concerns about this transaction during the hearing before the DPUC."
PPL's Response
PPL's Ryan Hill said in a statement to GoLocal, "Today, the Rhode Island Superior Court issued a stay of an order by the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers approving the sale of The Narragansett Electric Company to PPL. The court issued the stay as it considers an appeal from the Rhode Island attorney general on an expedited schedule, with an argument set for April 12."
"We look forward to a timely resolution of the appeal. We are prepared to close promptly with National Grid as soon as circumstances permit. And as we’ve said all along, we’re ready and eager to work with the talented team at Narragansett Electric to drive significant value for Rhode Islanders, to strengthen grid resilience and to deliver a clean-energy-enabling network that supports the state’s decarbonization goals. We do not intend to comment further on the appeal at this time,” added Hill.
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