Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger opponents call for sale of power plants

[bananas]

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/power_city/2011/11/duke-progress-merger-opponents-call.html

Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger opponents call for sale of power plants
Charlotte Business Journal by John Downey, Senior Staff Writer
Date: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 11:44am EST - Last Modified: Thursday, November 17, 2011, 2:27pm EST

The cities of New Bern and Rocky Mount have called on federal regulators to reject Duke Energy’s proposal for softening the anti-competitive impact of its proposed $26 billion merger with Progress Energy.

And they presented testimony from an expert witness who contends Duke and Progress should be required to sell top operating power plants in order to ensure competition in Carolinas wholesale markets.

The cities raised the market-competition issue in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which must approve the merger.

In a story that will run in the Charlotte Business Journal on Friday, Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers calls the sale of plants a “nonstarter” for the utilities. He says the state regulatory commissions in North and South Carolina would reject such a plan. And he says it does not make sense because the utilities need all of their existing plants to serve their current customer base.

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We know what's going to happen - this merger will be "too big to fail", they'll try to build some nuke plants, go bankrupt, and get bailed out by taxpayers.
It's how the 1% do it.