I came across this today while reading an online local newspaper. I have copied only the first part of the article, which gives a summary. The link for the entire article can be found at:

http://flash.syracuse.com/cgi-bin/syr_news.pl?CUSE_NEWS

The Associated Press 01/27/99 2:35 PM Eastern

NEW YORK (AP) -- Consolidated Edison Inc.'s plans to buy its suburban neighbor, Orange & Rockland Utilities, was approved Wednesday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The $790 million merger is expected to save Con Ed half-a-billion dollars over the next 10 years. But it's not clear whether that savings will be passed on to its 3.3 million electricity customers and 1.2 million gas users.

O&R will keep its identity and be operated as a separate subsidiary of Con Ed, said Rich Mulieri, a Con Ed spokesman.

The deal must be approved by the Public Service Commission in New York, and the Public Utility Commissions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania where Orange & Rockland does business.

The Security and Exchange Commission must also sign off on the deal and the U.S. Justice Department will review the merger for anti-trust violations, Mulieri said. Those approvals are expected by the summer, he said.

Although officials from both companies said the merger would save money, neither Con Edison nor O&R would estimate how monthly gas and electric bills would be affected.

Con Edison customers now pay some of the highest utility bills in the nation.

-- Anonymous, January 27, 1999