The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved the proposedmerger of Wisconsin Energy Corp. and WICOR by a vote of 3-0. Thedeal still requires clearance from the Federal Trade Commission andSecurities and Exchange Commission. Nov. 2, the companies said theFTC had requested additional information in connection with theirHart-Scott-Rodino filing. Both companies have supplied additionalinformation and documentation in response to the request.

The merger is expected to close this spring. As part of itsapproval the Wisconsin commission ordered a qualified five-yearrate freeze to begin following completion of Wisconsin Electric’spricing request for 2000-2001, which is currently underconsideration by the commission. While electricity and gas rateswould be frozen for five years, the combined company could requestprice changes every two years to address areas such as governmentmandates, environmental regulations, reliability upgrades andelectric fuel and gas costs. These would be subject to commissionreview and approval.

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