A glimpse of freedom

Merger and acquisition activity in the US utility sector, previously kept in check by the Public Utility Holding Company Act, could be set to swell with the repeal of this act in February, some analysts believe. By Oliver Holtaway

Speculation about a new flurry of merger and acquisition activity in the US utility sector is emerging in the run-up to the repeal of the country’s Public Utility Holding Company Act (Puhca). A depression-era law that had kept a lid on utility-sector M&A for 70 years, Puhca will be repealed in February under the Energy Act 2005.

The act prevented utilities from merging unless they had contiguous territories. A Californian utility could not go shopping for assets on the east coast, and vice

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