(a)
No person or corporation, whether or not organized under the laws of this state, shall merge, acquire, or control either directly or indirectly any public utility organized and doing business in this state without first securing authorization to do so from the commission. The commission may establish by order or rule the definitions of what constitute merger, acquisition, or control activities which are subject to this section. Any merger, acquisition, or control without that prior authorization shall be void and of no effect. No public utility organized and doing business under the laws of this state, and no subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling interest in a public utility, shall aid or abet any violation of this section.
(b)
Before authorizing the merger, acquisition, or control of any electric, gas, or telephone utility organized and doing business in this state, where any of the utilities that are parties to the proposed transaction has gross annual California revenues exceeding five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), the commission shall find that the proposal does all of the following:
(1)
Provides short-term and long-term economic benefits to ratepayers.
(2)
Equitably allocates, where the commission has ratemaking authority, the total short-term and long-term forecasted economic benefits, as determined by the commission, of the proposed merger, acquisition, or control, between shareholders and ratepayers. Ratepayers shall receive not less than 50 percent of those benefits.
(3)
Not adversely affect competition. In making this finding, the commission shall request an advisory opinion from the Attorney General regarding whether competition will be adversely affected and what mitigation measures could be adopted to avoid this result.
(c)
Before authorizing the merger, acquisition, or control of any electric, gas, or telephone utility organized and doing business in this state, where any of the entities that are parties to the proposed transaction has gross annual California revenues exceeding five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), the commission shall consider each of the criteria listed in paragraphs (1) to (8), inclusive, and find, on balance, that the merger, acquisition, or control proposal is in the public interest.
(1)
Maintain or improve the financial condition of the resulting public utility doing business in the state.
(2)
Maintain or improve the quality of service to public utility ratepayers in the state.
(3)
Maintain or improve the quality of management of the resulting public utility doing business in the state.
(4)
Be fair and reasonable to affected public utility employees, including both union and nonunion employees.
(5)
Be fair and reasonable to the majority of all affected public utility shareholders.
(6)
Be beneficial on an overall basis to state and local economies, and to the communities in the area served by the resulting public utility.
(7)
Preserve the jurisdiction of the commission and the capacity of the commission to effectively regulate and audit public utility operations in the state.
(8)
Provide mitigation measures to prevent significant adverse consequences which may result.
(d)
When reviewing a merger, acquisition, or control proposal, the commission shall consider reasonable options to the proposal recommended by other parties, including no new merger, acquisition, or control, to determine whether comparable short-term and long-term economic savings can be achieved through other means while avoiding the possible adverse consequences of the proposal.
(e)
The person or corporation seeking acquisition or control of a public utility organized and doing business in this state shall have, before the commission, the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the requirements of subdivisions (b) and (c) are met.
(f)
In determining whether an acquiring utility has gross annual revenues exceeding the amount specified in subdivisions (b) and (c), the revenues of that utility’s affiliates shall not be considered unless the affiliate was utilized for the purpose of effecting the merger, acquisition, or control.
(g)
Paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b) shall not apply to the formation of a holding company.
(h)
For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), the legislature does not intend to include acquisitions or changes in control that are mandated by either the commission or the Legislature as a result of, or in response to any electric industry restructuring. However, the value of an acquisition or change in control may be used by the commission in determining the costs or benefits attributable to any electric industry restructuring and for allocating those costs or benefits for collection in rates.