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State regulators are reviewing an $86 million deal that would give Maine’s biggest natural gas utility 6,000 more customers and about 230 more miles of pipeline in central and coastal Maine.

Unitil Corp. is seeking to buy Maine Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, the parent company of Central Maine Power Co. If successful, it would be the second gas utility in Maine purchased by Unitil in the last year, and it leaves just one other, smaller natural gas provider serving the state. The public advocate says she is not concerned about consolidation or prices rising as a consequence of the acquisition.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission held its initial case conference on the sale Thursday afternoon, scheduling a summer’s worth of deliberations. The companies anticipate the sale to be completed before the end of the year, Unitil said in its announcement to investors.

Unitil serves 43,900 natural gas customers in Maine — out of about 98,000 total customers across New England — and operates about 970 miles of distribution pipelines, spokesperson Amanda Vicinanzo said.

Iberdrola said selling off Maine Natural Gas will allow the company to focus more heavily on electricity grids, which make up about 80% of its business in the United States. The company called Maine Natural Gas “a small gas business, non essential for Iberdrola” in its announcement of the sale.

Maine Public Advocate Heather Sanborn said the sale would effectively mean transferring MNG’s operations from one conglomerate to another. Her office filed a petition to intervene May 22, but Sanborn said that’s a typical step for cases like this.

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Sanborn said she was not concerned about the potential for monopolistic practices stemming from the deal, noting that the companies effectively operate as regulated monopolies within their current service areas.

“We plan to take a similar role in this proceeding” as they did during Unitil’s purchase of Bangor Natural Gas Co. last year, Sanborn said on a phone call ahead of the meeting. Sanborn’s predecessor, William Harwood, said the Bangor consolidation would likely help ratepayers save.

If the deal goes through, Summit Natural Gas of Maine would be the only other natural gas provider in Maine.

Summit serves 6,000 customers and operates about 250 miles of pipe throughout the Kennebec Valley region and beyond, according to the company’s website. Its local operations are based in Augusta, but the company is owned by a Colorado parent.

Unitil purchased Bangor Natural Gas for just under $72 million in December. The PUC voted 3-0 to approve the sale, which included a stipulation that the company measure, report and work to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released from its pipes in accidental leaks and deliberate discharges.

In its petition to the utilities commission, filed May 9, Unitil said it is “willing to accept the same conditions” as those included in the previous sale.

With the Maine Natural Gas acquisition, Unitil would “serve communities representing over 40% of Maine’s total population,” the company said, adding that current Maine Natural Gas customers would not see rates increase with the merger.

Thomas P. Meissner Jr., Unitil’s chief executive officer and chairman, called Maine Natural Gas’ operations “highly complementary” to his company’s existing distribution operations.

“We share their dedication to serving communities in Maine by providing responsive, high-quality service through locally managed operations,” Meissner said in a written statement.

Daniel Kool is the Portland Press Herald's utilities reporter, covering electricity, gas, broadband - anything you get a bill for. He also covers the impact of tariffs on Maine and picks up the odd business...

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