National Pride National Greed

[CPOPE]

British power company National Grid on Friday completed its acquisition of U.S. utility KeySpan after receiving final approval from New York State regulators earlier this week.

The combination creates the nation's second-largest utility, with 3.3 million electricity customers and 3.4 million natural gas customers in New York state and New England.

With its $7.3 billion takeover of KeySpan Corp. completed yesterday, British energy giant National Grid PLC plans over the next four to six months to begin putting the National Grid name on bills, trucks, and the Dorchester gas tank alongside the Southeast Expressway, officials said. This prominent KeySpan property overlooks the city of Boston. The Hub of the universe.

Don't believe calculated savings from this merger will be an overall cost savings. "Higher ratings would be possible over time if NG materially improves its financial profile," said Standard & Poor's analyst John Kennedy. Worse than Enron we are now selling the domestic Transmission & Distribution electric and gas infrastructure. This deal puts ownership of the NE/NY natural gas and electrical grid in foreign hands.

The sad overall fact is Jobs will be reduced profits shipped overseas. Safety will suffer through forced merger changes of combining policies, procedures, equipment and work practicies of different operations.

An enhanced early-retirement plan offered to KeySpan and National Grid workers this year "was very well-received, and at this point, it looks as though we will be able to achieve the reductions through voluntary programs and attrition," National Grid spokeswoman Jackie Barry. Aside from the political spin you've got to realize National Grid management workforce are "employees at will" and the union repersented workforce is fractured between multiple brotherhoods and locals that it is not effective.

THe Redcoats are here! Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes