Syracuse, NY - National Grid would be willing to sell some of its U.S. assets if the company needed cash in the future, Chief Executive Officer Steve Holliday said in an interview published today in The Daily Telegraph of Britain. Holliday, who is based in London, did not suggest there was any sale in the works, and National Grid officials...
Syracuse, NY - National Grid would be willing to sell some of its U.S. assets if the company needed cash in the future, Chief Executive Officer Steve Holliday said in an interview published today in The Daily Telegraph of Britain.
Holliday, who is based in London, did not suggest there was any sale in the works, and National Grid officials were quick to point out he was speaking hypothetically.
“The U.S. operations are not for sale, and there has been no strategic review undertaken,” said Steve Brady, speaking for the company from Buffalo.
Holliday told the Telegraph that National Grid considered selling U.S. assets earlier this year to help pay for a five-year, $34 billion investment in infrastructure. But the U.S. assets were making “inadequate” profits, and the timing was wrong for a sale, he said. Instead,
National Grid shocked its investors by selling $5 billion in new equity to help pay for the capital expenditures.
Holliday told the newspaper he was “hugely annoyed” about accounting mistakes made by National Grid in U.S. rate proposals filed in New York and Massachusetts. Those mistakes — which included charges for executive perks such as children’s private-school tuition — have stirred controversy in both states.
“It was a mistake, mea culpa,” Holliday said.
Holliday said he has made it his “day job” to improve the company’s U.S. operations. He said the proposed rate increases are necessary to run the business.
Contact Tim Knauss at tknauss@syracuse.com or 470-3023.