CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

Public Service Commission spokesman James Denn said this morning he doesn’t know of any settlement talks between staff at the Department of Public Service and Iberdrola SA, the Spanish utility seeking to acquire Energy East Corp. for $4.5 billion.

The merger is going to be discussed at the PSC’s monthly meeting Wednesday, and a special session has been scheduled for Aug. 27. A vote on the merger could take place that day.

Energy East, which is headquartered in Maine, owns Rochester Gas & Electric and New York State Electric & Gas, which have 1.3 million upstate New York customers.

The five members of the PSC must approve the deal under state law. New York is the only state in the Energy East service territory that has yet to approve the deal.

Staff at the Department of Public Service and Iberdrola have had settlement talks in the past, but the negotiations broken down. The Spanish daily Cinco Dias reported yesterday that talks had resumed.

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