(Host) The president of Central Vermont Public Service says there could be more mergers in the state’s electric utility industry.
CVPS agreed to a deal yesterday to be bought out by Gaz Metro and merged with its Green Mountain Power subsidiary.
CVPS President Larry Reilly says Vermont is such a small place that it no longer makes sense to have as many electricity suppliers as it has.
(Reilly) "Everyone who looks at the state says there are too many utilities here. Even when you put our two companies together with 250,000 customers we’ll still be one of the smallest utilities in the U.S. and with lots more utilities in the state there is obviously room for even further consolidation down the road if an when the time is right."
(Host) The Green Mountain-Central Vermont merger proposal still has a number of steps to go. CVPS shareholders will probably be asked to vote on the proposal by late this summer.
Then it will have to be approved by regulators. It may not be complete for another year or so.