Here are the facts on foreign purchase of PSE | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 11:18 am Friday, October 14, 2016

To the editor:

In his letter (Sept. 23), Mark Hoffman tries to demonize the group that bought PSE. He uses words like “private equity,” “leveraged buyout,” and “raking in the money.”

I represented the NW Energy Coalition during the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission case that reviewed the acquisition. My name is on the settlement agreement that the buyers, NWEC, and the other parties signed, and that the WUTC approved. So I know something about the acquisition.

Here are the facts:

• The buyers financed just 20 percent of the purchase price, with the other 80 percent coming from owner equity. The WUTC found that the deal was NOT highly leveraged.

• The WUTC described the buyers as “overwhelmingly government and private pension funds.” They are NOT “corporate raiders” according to the agency.

• The settlement agreement contains 63 separate commitments, by the buyers, that emphasize service obligations to PSE’s customers. That’s why the WUTC observed that the agreement provides “actual and potential benefits to ratepayers.”

• The settlement agreement imposes significant restrictions on the buyers’ ability to take dividends and other distributions from PSE.

• Due to its ongoing role as regulator, the WUTC concluded that “PSE will remain as ‘local’ a company as it is today.”

The WUTC order is available online for Mr. Hoffman and others to review.

DAVID JOHNSON

Bainbridge Island