司法部结束Vistra收购Cogentrix反垄断调查：追加出售缅因州电厂，预计每年为新英格兰消费者省下数千万美元电费
美国司法部10月30日发表声明，副总检察长Stanley E. Woodward, Jr.就反垄断司对Vistra公司（Vistra Corp.）收购Cogentrix Energy一案的调查公布结论：两家公司在联邦能源管理委员会（FERC）批准交易后，主动追加出售Cogentrix位于缅因州Rumford的燃气联合循环电厂，司法部据此结束调查，并将继续监督该电厂的出售。
Vistra今年1月5日宣布从Quantum Capital Group手中收购Cogentrix。两家公司的发电资产在PJM互联电网、新英格兰独立系统运营商（ISO-NE）与德州电力可靠性委员会三个区域市场存在重叠。FERC审查期间，ISO-NE的内部市场监督方曾提出交易可能削弱竞争的担忧；Vistra其后主动出售其位于ISO-NE的Casco Bay Energy电厂，FERC据此无条件批准交易，但司法部仍继续调查合并后组合在新英格兰市场压低出力、抬高电价的能力与动机。
Woodward在声明中表示：「缅因州、新罕布什尔州及整个新英格兰地区的电力用户，将从持续竞争带来的可负担电力中受益……司法部预计，Vistra的资产出售每年将为新英格兰各地消费者省下数千万美元电费。」反垄断司副助理检察长G. Charles Beller表示，该司已发展出审查电力并购的精细方法，将继续紧盯电力交易与整个电力行业，必要时采取行动维护电力市场竞争。
Justice Department Closes Vistra-Cogentrix Antitrust Probe After Added Divestiture, Citing Tens of Millions in Expected Annual Savings for New England Consumers
The U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement on October 30 in which Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward, Jr. announced the outcome of the Antitrust Division's investigation into Vistra Corp.'s acquisition of Cogentrix Energy: after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the deal, the parties unilaterally decided to sell Cogentrix's gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Rumford, Maine, and the Division closed its investigation, saying it will continue to monitor the sale.
Vistra announced on January 5 that it would acquire Cogentrix from Quantum Capital Group. The two companies' generation portfolios overlap in three regional markets: PJM Interconnection, ISO New England (ISO-NE), and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. During FERC's review, ISO-NE's internal market monitor raised concerns that the deal could reduce competition; Vistra then unilaterally sold its Casco Bay Energy facility in ISO-NE, and FERC approved the transaction without conditions. The Division nevertheless continued investigating whether the combined firm could withhold electricity from the ISO-NE market and raise prices.
'Electricity customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and across New England will benefit from continued competition to generate affordable electricity,' Woodward said. 'The Division anticipates that Vistra's divestitures will save consumers throughout New England tens of millions of dollars annually in electricity bills.' Deputy Assistant Attorney General G. Charles Beller of the Antitrust Division said the Division has developed sophisticated methods for reviewing electricity generation mergers and will continue to monitor electricity transactions and the sector as a whole.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：美国司法部总部大楼。GSM联邦机构固定图库。 / U.S. Department of Justice headquarters. GSM federal asset library.
