The approval will allow PPL to sell 11 hydroelectric power plants and Hebgen Lake reservoir.
The transaction includes Thompson Falls Dam on the Clark Fork River; Kerr Dam on the Flathead River; Madison Dam on the Madison River; Mystic Lake Dam on West Rosebud Creek.
PPL will also sell Hauser, Holter, Black Eagle, Rainbow, Cochrane, Ryan and Morony dams along the Missouri River.
NorthWestern Energy will buy the hydroelectric generating facilities, which have a combined capacity of over 630MW, for $900m.
PPL expects its total net cash proceeds from the sale to be about $880m.
The transaction does not include PPL Montana’s stake in the Colstrip coal-fired facility or its J.E. Corette coal-fired plant situated near Billings.
PPL Montana plans to mothball the 153MW Corette plant in April 2015.
The agreement also does not include the Butte-based marketing and trading operations of PPL Montana’s affiliate, PPL EnergyPlus.
PPL has already secured approvals from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the required clearance from the antitrust enforcement agencies.
The FERC approved the transfer of PPL Montana’s hydroelectric generating stations and its hydroelectric operating licenses to NorthWestern after completion of the transaction.
NorthWestern is required to file with FERC and secure approval of several financing transactions prior to the completion of the agreement.
The FERC expects to take 30 to 60 days to complete the review of NorthWestern’s filing.
