49-34A-35. Sale, lease, disposition, purchase, merger, or consolidation prohibited unless authorized by commission--Certain transactions excepted. No public utility, without first being authorized to do so by the commission, may:

(1) Sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of its property or business constituting an operating unit or system in this state to another person;

(2) Sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of its operating property or plant used to provide gas or electric service to its customers in this state to another person;

(3) Purchase the property or business constituting an operating unit or system in this state of another public utility; or

(4) Merge or consolidate with another public utility operating in this state.

However, if the sale, lease, merger, consolidation, or other disposition of the property or business of one public utility to another person, as provided in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, does not involve a sale, lease, merger, consolidation, or disposition wherein the fair market value exceeds ten million dollars, the sale, lease, merger, consolidation, or disposition is not subject to the restrictions of this section.

No person may acquire or gain control either directly or indirectly of any public utility doing business in this state that has a fair market value exceeding ten million dollars without the commission's prior authorization. As used in this section, the term, control, means the right to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the public utility, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.

Source: SL 1975, ch 283, § 23; SL 2007, ch 270, § 1.