Washington utilities regulators are asking Avista and the Ontario-based utility Hydro One for more information about how resignations by Hydro One leadership might affect their proposed merger.
This week, Hydro One’s CEO, Mayo Schmidt, retired and the utility’s board resigned under pressure from the provincial premier, Doug Ford.
Kate Griffith is a spokeswoman for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. She says the agency has given the two companies until next Wednesday to respond to the recent changes. Other interested parties have also been requested to provide comments.
Avista serves about 600-thousand customers in eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. An Avista subsidiary company service customers in Alaska. Hydro One is Ontario’s largest electricity provider with about one-point-three million customers.
Regulators in each state are required to give their approval before the merger is finalized.
Griffith says Washington regulators were due to make a decision about approving the merger by mid-August. She says it’s likely, given the recent events, that that will be pushed back.
