Back in February last year, Kaua’i Electric parent company Citizens Communications thought it had deals to sell all of its electrical utilities in the United States. Nearly two years later, the company is still holding electric utilities in Arizona, Vermont
Back in February last year, Kaua’i Electric parent company Citizens Communications thought it had deals to sell all of its electrical utilities in the United States.
Nearly two years later, the company is still holding electric utilities in Arizona, Vermont and here. And time may be running short on a proposed sale of Kaua’i Electric.
Negotiations for Cap Rock Energy Corp. to buy the Arizona and Vermont holdings were terminated in March this year. Meanwhile, talks continue between Citizens and Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative to acquire Kaua’i Electric.
Citizens, which wants to sell off its utilities in favor of acquiring telephone and telecommunications lines all over the country, also hasn’t sold its Citizens Energy Services division’s The Gas Company propane retail operations on Kaua’i and across Hawai’i.
The latest news from the owner of Kaua’i Electric comes from Citizens’ third-quarter earnings statements and federal Securities and Exchange Commission filings: “We are discussing a reduction of the purchase price and other options. Our agreement for the sale of this division (Kaua’i Electric) may be terminated if regulatory approval is not received before February 2002.”
Brigid Smith, Citizens assistant vice president for corporate communications, said the statement doesn’t necessarily mean the deal will be terminated in two months, only that it could be by either the buyer or seller.
There’s “incentive” to get the deal “done,” she said.
Given the state Public Utilities Commission denial of the initial application for a deal between the local co-op and Citizens 16 months ago, and Kaua’i County’s overtures about acquiring the utility and making it part of county government (an announcement is expected soon of a fair market value for Kaua’i Electric as a result of a county-funded appraisal), a commission decision on a possible sale of Kaua’i Electric probably won’t be rendered before next February of next year. That’s even if an application is presented to it before the end of this year, also unlikely.
Citizens continues to show healthy financial status, with its third-quarter assets being over $10 billion, up from around $7 billion the year previous.
Despite the collapse of negotiations to sell them, Citizens plans to pursue “alternative buyers” for the Vermont and Arizona electric divisions, the company said in its SEC information.
During the third quarter, Citizens continued its avarice for telecommunications lines, gobbling up 381,000 from Verizon (formerly GTE) in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin for $1.1 billion cash.
It also acquired over one million other lines in the Midwest and East Coast when it bought Frontier Corp. for $3.3 billion cash in late June.
In early July, the company sold its Louisiana Gas operations to Atmos Energy Corp. for $363 million in cash and signed an agreement to sell its Colorado Gas division to Kinder Morgan for $11 million cash. The Colorado deal is expected to close before the end of 2001, the company indicated.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
