DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Final regulatory approval has been given for MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. to buy PacifiCorp, and the deal is expected to close by March 22, the companies said Friday.
Des Moines-based MidAmerican, which is controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett through his investment company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., announced in May that it had agreed to buy PacifiCorp for $5.1 billion, plus the assumption of $4.3 billion in debt.
PacifiCorp, owned by ScottishPower of Glasgow, Scotland, operates as Utah Power in Utah. It also serves customers in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho and California.
The six state public utility commissions all have issued final written orders approving the acquisition. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice also have approved the deal.
"We are pleased to have completed the regulatory approval process in just 10 months from the date the transaction was announced May 24, 2005," said Greg Abel, MidAmerican's president.
MidAmerican provides electricity and natural gas to about 5 million customers through its companies, MidAmerican Energy Co., CE Electric UK, Kern River Gas Transmission Co., Northern Natural Gas Co. and CalEnergy.
PacifiCorp will continue to be based in Portland, Ore., and will retain its name.
ScottishPower wanted to unload PacifiCorp, which it bought in 1999, because it estimated it would have to invest as much as $5 billion to improve its power-distribution system, taking away cash dividends from its investors, company officials said.
MidAmerican has promised to spend about $1 billion a year for at least the next five years to improve PacifiCorp's electricity network, including transmission upgrades and emissions reductions at coal plants, spokesman Allan Urlis said.
The promised investment by MidAmerican Energy Holdings will not affect the Iowa customers of MidAmerican Energy Co., which has committed to keeping electricity rates at current levels through 2010, Urlis said.