JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Public Service Commission asked Staff to file whether they intend to file a complaint against Westar/Great Plains in their merger or at the very least a status update so they don’t delay the acquisition.
Chairman Daniel Hall said he does not want the process delaying the sale, but he said he was not commenting on whether he thought the sale was appropriate.
“I’ve got some concerns,” Hall said about the pace of the case. “What I don’t want to see is a case being opened here that ultimately unnecessarily delays the consummation of this transaction.”
He referred to the original opening of a docket on June 1 before Staff issued a report contending that the commission had jurisdiction over the transaction and that the transaction posed a potential threat to ratepayers. That report was issued July 25 and in August the docket was closed.
But Hall said that the commission had heard “crickets” since then and that delays could be concerning. Commissioner Bill Kenney agreed, saying uncertainty could harm the merger.
“Uncertainty causes uncertainty,” he said. “We wouldn’t want our commission, or any commission, holding up the process.”
On the phone, Commissioner Scott Rupp asked whether the Staff could be held to a hard deadline on their intention to file so that there would not be another two months of no report.
Staff and Great Plains agreed that the previous docket would be an appropriate place for the filings, which will be due at next week’s agenda meeting.
