Mississippi's rejection on Tuesday of Entergy Corp's plan to divest its transmission business to ITC Holdings could complicate the New Orleans-based utility's struggle to resolve an ongoing federal investigation of its operations.In a 3-0 vote, the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) said the $1.78 billion transaction would raise transmission rates for Entergy Mississippi customers and take authority to set rates away from state regulators.The transaction, a spin-off and merger of Entergy's 15,000-mile (24,000-km) transmission network serving parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, is part of Entergy's larger move to leave the regulated transmission business at the urging of federal regulators.Exiting transmission is necessary to quell the U.S. Justice Department's three-year inquiry into alleged anti-competitive behavior by Entergy that merchant generators complained for a decade hindered their ability to sell power to buyers.
ITC Holdings Corp. (ITC Holdings) is engaged in the electric transmission operations of its Regulated Operating Subsidiaries. Shares of ITC traded higher by 1.34% or $1.23/share to $93.30. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $75.57 and as high as $106.74. On average, 312231 shares of ITC exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 635535.
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