[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7624-7625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3712]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 35-27648]
Filings Under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, as
Amended (``Act'')
February 7, 2003.
Notice is hereby given that the following filing(s) has/have been
made with the Commission pursuant to provisions of the Act and rules
promulgated under the Act. All interested persons are referred to the
application(s) and/or declaration(s) for complete statements of the
proposed transaction(s) summarized below. The application(s) and/or
declaration(s) and any amendment(s) is/are available for public
inspection through the Commission's Branch of Public Reference.
Interested persons wishing to comment or request a hearing on the
application(s) and/or declaration(s) should submit their views in
writing by March 4, 2003, to the Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, Washington, DC 20549-0609, and serve a copy on the relevant
applicant(s) and/or declarant(s) at the address(es) specified below.
Proof of service (by affidavit or, in the case of an attorney at law,
by certificate) should be filed with the request. Any request for
hearing should identify specifically the issues of facts or law that
are disputed. A person who so requests will be notified of any hearing,
if ordered, and will receive a copy of any notice or order issued in
the matter. After March 4, 2003, the application(s) and/or
declaration(s), as filed or as amended, may be granted and/or permitted
to become effective.
NorthWestern Corporation (70-10053)
NorthWestern Corporation (``NorthWestern'' or ``Applicant''), 125
South Dakota Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104, a ``holding
company'' and ``public-utility company'' within the meanings of
sections 2(a)(7) and 2(a)(5) of the Act, respectively, has filed an
application (``Application'') under section 3(a)(3) of the Act.
NorthWestern is engaged in various utility and nonutility
operations.\1\ The
[[Page 7625]]
NorthWestern Public Service division (``NPS'') of NorthWestern holds
ownership interests in the following electric utility assets: a 23.4%
share of Big Stone Generating Plant, located near Big Stone City, South
Dakota; a ten percent share of Coyote I Electric Generating Station,
located near Beulah, North Dakota; and an 8.7% share of Neal Electric
Generating Unit No. 4, located near Sioux City, Iowa. These facilities
are operated by their other co-owners, and their output is dispatched
by the MidContinent Area Power Pool. NorthWestern uses this plant to
provide retail electric service to 108 communities in South Dakota,
with a combined total population of 98,400 people. The company states
that it also engages in limited wholesale electricity sales.
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\1\ Applicant states that, through subsidiaries, NorthWestern:
locates for utilities underground lines, wires, and pipes; provides
unregulated energy related products and services to industrial,
institutional, and commercial clients; provides energy management
consulting services; sells energy management systems; finances
energy management investments; operates energy delivery facilities;
provides integrated communication and data solutions to small and
medium-sized businesses; provides air conditioning, heating, duct-
cleaning, and plumbing services; supplies, markets, and distributes
propane, other natural gas liquids, crude oil, and natural gas to
other resellers and end-users; markets electricity at market rates;
and holds ``non-material,'' passive investments in nonutility
businesses related to those described above.
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The NPS also holds nonexclusive municipal franchises to provide
natural gas service in fifty-seven South Dakota and four Nebraska
communities. Under these franchises, NorthWestern provides gas
distribution services to approximately 81,000 customers.\2\
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\2\ Applicant states that approximately half of these customers
are located in South Dakota, and the other half is located in
Nebraska.
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Applicant states that the South Dakota Public Utility Commission
regulates its electric and gas utility operations, and its Nebraska gas
distribution activities are regulated by the four Nebraska
municipalities in which it operates.
By purchase and sale agreement dated September 29, 2000
(``Agreement''), NorthWestern agreed to acquire (``Acquisition'') the
gas, electric, and certain nonutility operations of Montana Power
Company (``MPC''). Under the Agreement, MPC would transfer certain
assets to a new limited liability company subsidiary, Montana Power LLC
(``LLC''), and NorthWestern would acquire all of the membership
interests of the LLC. The assets that MPC would transfer to the LLC
include the following: (1) Milltown Dam, a three megawatt capacity
hydroelectric facility; (2) its leasehold interest in Colstrip Unit 4,
an electric generating plant located in Montana that is operated by a
third-party; (3) certain electric transmission and distribution lines;
(4) 2,000 miles of natural gas pipeline; and (5) three underground
propane distribution systems that service the town of Townsend, the Big
Sky Ski Resort, and the Anaconda Job Corps. MPC used these assets to
provide retail electric service to approximately 288,000 customers
located in Montana and Wyoming,\3\ retail gas service to approximately
151,000 retail customers in Montana, and propane distribution service
to the town of Townsend, the Big Sky Ski Resort, and the Anaconda Job
Corps.
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\3\ Applicant states that the only electric service provided in
Wyoming consisted of MPC's service of customers within Yellowstone
National Park, which is located in both Montana and Wyoming.
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On February 14, 2002, NorthWestern filed the Application and, on
February 25, 2002, NorthWestern acquired the LLC. By acquiring the LLC,
Applicant became a ``holding company'' within the meaning of the Act.
Applicant requests an order from the Commission granting the company an
exemption from registration under section 3(a)(3) of the Act.
For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management,
pursuant to delegated authority.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-3712 Filed 2-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P