By Tom Kleckner
NextEra Energy’s bid to acquire Texas utility Oncor has failed to gain traction with state regulators, who said Thursday they have not changed their minds about rejecting the Florida company’s purchase.
The Public Utility Commission briefly considered NextEra’s request for a rehearing before deciding to postpone final action until it meets on June 7, allowing time to review reply briefs due May 23.
“I haven’t changed my decision on their motion,” said Commissioner Brandy Marty Marquez, saying she would keep an “open mind” pending the reply briefs.
“I, too, remain unpersuaded at the time by their substantive arguments,” Commissioner Ken Anderson said. “I’m inclined to believe our original decision was the correct one.”
The PUC rejected NextEra’s $18.7 billion proposal last month, finding the acquisition not to be in the public interest because the risks outweighed the promised benefits. NextEra argued the commission went beyond the scope of its powers and called the PUC’s order “unprecedented,” asking it for additional time to review the case (Docket 46238). (See NextEra’s Rejected Oncor Bid Gets Second Look.)
Anderson said after reviewing NextEra’s arguments and an amicus brief filed by Oncor’s bankrupt parent, Energy Future Holdings, he was convinced the PUC has jurisdiction over the transaction and that NextEra was “legally required to seek our prior approval for the transaction.”
“I see no compelling reason to further delay these proceedings beyond what’s absolutely necessary,” Anderson said.
The commissioner asked staff to prepare an order clarifying some of the provisions in the original order and address the technical errors NextEra pointed to in requesting a rehearing. That order would be adopted June 7, should the PUC not grant a rehearing.
NextEra is liable for a $275 million termination fee should the deal fail for certain reasons.
The PUC last year rejected a previous attempt to acquire Oncor by Dallas-based Hunt Consolidated. Oncor’s future is central to EFH’s bid to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which has now dragged on for three years.
New York hedge fund Elliott Management, a top creditor in EFH, sued the ownership group May 11. The firm said NextEra’s bid for Oncor is unlikely to close, and it requested the bankruptcy court to allow it to propose interim financing and alternative restructuring plans for EFH.
The meeting was the PUC’s first without Donna Nelson, who retired from the commission May 15. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has yet to announce a replacement, leaving Anderson and Marquez to operate without a chairman.
