The Public Service Board will allow the town of Rockingham and its two Canadian partners to participate in hearings on the pending sale of the Connecticut and Deerfield River hydroelectric dam network. Lawyers say they asked for the special status because of potential legal mix-ups in the sale.
TransCanada has proposed buying the dams from the bankrupt U.S. Gen New England for $505 million. The town of Rockingham and the Bellows Falls Power Company is seeking to buy the Bellows Falls dam for $72 million.
But lawyers say the timing of the closing of the sale may mean that Rockingham might buy the dam from new owner TransCanada, rather than U.S. Gen.