PPL Reaches Settlement Related to FERC Approval of Acquisition of E.ON U.S.

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Sep 15, 2010, 04:14 ET

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) and E.ON U.S. LLC have reached a settlement with two parties who had raised issues related to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of PPL's acquisition of E.ON U.S.

PPL announced in April a definitive agreement with E.ON A.G. to acquire E.ON U.S. LLC, the parent company of Kentucky's two major utilities, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company. The companies serve about 1.2 million customers, principally in Kentucky.

In a filing with FERC on Wednesday (9/15), PPL and E.ON U.S. asked FERC to approve the acquisition by Oct. 15. If FERC approval is received in that time frame, and if other needed approvals are obtained by then, PPL and E.ON U.S. said they may be able to complete the transaction by Oct. 31.

Two parties had raised concerns to FERC – American Municipal Power, which supplies wholesale power to municipal electric systems, and Kentucky Municipals, which consists of several municipal electric providers in the state: the Frankfort Electric and Water Plant Board, and the cities of Barbourville, Bardstown, Bardwell, Benham, Berea, Corbin, Falmouth, Madisonville, Nicholasville, Paris and Providence.

The settlement resolves the concerns raised by these two parties, and they have withdrawn their protests.

Additional approvals for the acquisition are needed from the Kentucky Public Service Commission and from the Virginia State Corporation Commission and the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

PPL Corporation said Sept. 2 that it had reached a settlement agreement with all the intervening parties in its Kentucky PSC application. The settlement was filed with the commission for review and approval. The commission is expected to make a final decision on the acquisition application by Sept. 30.

PPL Corporation, headquartered in Allentown, Pa., owns or controls nearly 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about 4 million customers in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

SOURCE PPL Corporation