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DC approves $6.4B Washington Gas, AltaGas merger

By Jeff Clabaugh

WASHINGTON — Canadian utility AltaGas has cleared the final regulatory hurdle for its $6.4 billion acquisition of Washington Gas parent company WGL Holdings.

The D.C. Public Service Commission has signed off on the acquisition, pending conditions outlined on the PSC website that, among other things, address cybersecurity, environmental, safety, and reliability concern.

The merged utility would also pay Washington Gas customers a one-time rate credit, and help fund District workforce development initiatives.

AltaGas and WGL have five days to review the final approval with conditions.

Approval from Maryland regulators, granted in April, also includes credits for residential customers, as well as workforce development and energy efficiency programs.

WGL will continue to operate as a stand-alone utility headquartered in D.C. WGL has about 1,500 employees in Washington and 1.1 million customers in the D.C. region.

AltaGas runs power plants across North America and owns two other U.S. gas utilities — Michigan gas utility Semco Energy Gas Co., and Alaska gas utility Enstar Natural Gas Co.

AltaGas will also move the headquarters of its U.S. power business to D.C., bringing about 20 jobs to the area initially.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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