Dominion-Questar Merger Gets Approval From Utah's Public Service Commission

(RTTNews) - Power producer Dominion Resources, Inc. (D) and natural gas company Questar Corp. (STR) said that the Public Service Commission of Utah has approved their merger, thereby moving the proposed combination one step closer to finalization. The approval is subject to terms and conditions of an agreed settlement stipulation.

With the PSC of Utah's action, the final regulatory approval needed to complete the merger is pending with the Wyoming Public Service Commission. The companies expect the transaction to close in 2016 shortly after final regulatory approval is received.

In early January, Dominion Resources said it has agreed to acquire Questar in an all-cash transaction valued at about $4.4 billion.

The proposed merger would create an integrated energy company serving about 2.5 million electric utility customers and 2.3 million gas utility customers in seven states.

The combined company also would operate more than 15,500 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipelines, one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems, and approximately 25,700 megawatts of electric generation.