Arkansas regulators want guarantees that their authority will be preserved if Entergy Corp.’s utilities join a regional transmission group, raising questions about whether the deal will go through.
That could complicate Entergy’s plan to spin off its long-distance transmission lines to ITC Holdings Corp. Joining a regional transmission organization is a required for the spin-off.
New Orleans-based Entergy, which owns utilities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, wants to join MISO, an Indiana-based group that directs movement of electricity in parts of 11 Midwestern states and the Canadian province of Manitoba.
The Arkansas Public Service Commission said MISO has to preserve regulators’ current powers.
Entergy and MISO say they are working on a response to satisfy Arkansas, but some observers say they’re not sure MISO will meet Arkansas’ conditions.