AEP subsidiary to buy Louisiana cooperative
SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA - A subsidiary of power generator American Electric Power plans to buy a Louisiana electric cooperative for $94 million in a deal expected to save the cooperative's members 20 percent a year on their electricity bills.
Southwestern Electric Power Co. said that the 30,000 members of Valley Electric Membership Corp. will receive $30 million for their stake in the cooperative should the deal be approved. Members likely will vote early next year to dissolve the cooperative.
The cooperative's members are located south of Shreveport. The deal will double the size of Southwestern Electric's geographic footprint in Louisiana and bring economic opportunities along Interstate 49.
The utility has nearly 500,000 customers in Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
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Manitoba Hydro's burgeoning debt surpasses $19 billion
WINNIPEG - Manitoba Hydro's debt load now exceeds $19 billion as the provincial Crown corporation grapples with a shrinking net income amid ongoing efforts to slay costs.
The utility's annual report, to be released publicly on Tuesday, also shows its total consolidated net income slumped from $71 million in 2016-2017 to $37 million in the last fiscal year.
It said efforts to restructure the utility and reduce costs are partly to blame for the $34 million drop in year-over-year income.
These earnings come nowhere close, however, to alleviating Hydro's long-term debt problem. The figure is pegged at $19.2 billion this fiscal year, up…