Continuing the momentum that began earlier this month, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. (MEHC) gained approval Thursday from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for its proposed $9.4 billion purchase of ScottishPower’s PacifiCorp utility operations.

Among the six western states in which PacifiCorp provides electric utility services, by far its smallest customer base is in California, tucked into the far northern end of the state in remote areas. Only Oregon and Washington still need to act on the deal, and both have settlements awaiting regulatory action.

The authority granted by the CPUC’s decision is subject to specific commitments offered by the applicants, including their commitment to implement in California “conditions that are adopted in other states that provide additional benefits or protections to California ratepayers.”

Other adopted commitments include PacifiCorp’s agreement to do the following:

Regulators in Utah,Wyoming and Idaho this month all gave their approvals to the MEHC purchase of PacifiCorp.

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