Docket Number: U-210542
Commission authorizes transfer of 31.57% non-controlling interest and updated commitments
LACEY, Wash. - State regulators approved the proposed sale and purchase of 31.57% direct interest in Puget Holdings LLC, and indirect interest in Puget Sound Energy, to two new investors.
Under the proposed transaction, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) is selling its ownership interest in Puget Holdings LLC, parent of Puget Sound Energy, to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPP) and Macquarie Washington Clean Energy Investment L.P.
In its order approving the sale, the three-member commission also approved a complete agreement resolving changes to a set of 65 commitments that Puget Holdings owners must follow to protect the public interest. The commitments focus on several issues, including:
- regulation,
- governance and operations,
- financial protections,
- community and low-income programs,
- environmental considerations,
- energy efficiency, and
- specific plant investments.
Puget Holdings indirectly holds 100% of ownership interest in Puget Sound Energy. The sale has no impact on the shares of the other current Puget Holdings owners: Alberta Investment Management Corporation, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Administration Corporation, and PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V.
By approving the sale, the three-member commission found that the transfer will result in no harm to PSE customers and is in the public interest, as required by state law.
BACKGROUND
On July 8, 2021, Puget Sound Energy filed a notice outlining the proposal to sell CPP Investments’ indirect ownership interest to two new investors.
As part of this proceeding, the joint applicants requested changes to a set of commitments to protect the public interest initially established during Puget Holdings’ initial acquisition of PSE in 2008. After requesting these changes, PSE later announced that the two purchasers — OTPP and the Macquarie Fund — would be restructuring their partnership, delaying the resolution of the request.
Eventually, stakeholders reached agreement on updated commitments, and PSE filed a final version of the updated commitments on Jan. 25.
The UTC did not receive any public comments on the proposed sale.
Stakeholders involved in discussions about the agreed commitments include UTC staff, the Alliance of Western Energy Consumers (AWEC), the Public Counsel Unit of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, and The Energy Project.
Bellevue-based PSE provides electricity service to more than 1.1 million electric customers in eight Washington counties: Island, King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pierce, Skagit, Thurston, and Whatcom. PSE provides natural gas service to more than 800,000 customers in six Washington counties: King, Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston.
The UTC is the state agency that regulates private, investor-owned electric and natural gas utilities in Washington. It is the commission’s responsibility to ensure regulated companies provide safe and reliable service to customers at reasonable rates, while allowing them the opportunity to earn a fair profit.
###