2 New York Utilities to Merge

Brooklyn Union Gas Co. and Long Island Lighting Co. said they agreed to merge in a stock deal that would create a $4 billion electric and gas company. The deal comes after years of political wrangling over Lilco and its Shoreham nuclear power plant--which never opened--and state proposals to take over the utility. The deal was called key to lowering electric rates on New York’s Long Island, which has some of the highest rates in the nation, mostly because of Lilco’s multibillion-dollar debt for the Shoreham nuclear plant. Brooklyn Union provides natural gas service to the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Hicksville, N.Y.-based Lilco provides power and gas to the eastern Long Island counties of Nassau and Suffolk as well as parts of Queens. The two companies serve a total of 2.2 million customers.