HLS 25RS-199 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 11
BY REPRESENTATIVE MIKE JOHNSON
UTILITIES: Urges Louisiana Public Service Commission and Cleco Power to approve the
sale of a regulated utility only in certain circumstances
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Cleco Power to approve
3 the sale of a regulated utility only in certain circumstances.
4 WHEREAS, Cleco Power, the primary subsidiary of Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC,
5is a regional holding company headquartered in Pineville, Louisiana, has been in business
6since 1935 and has approximately twelve hundred employees; and
7 WHEREAS, Cleco, otherwise known as Central Louisiana Electric Company, has
8a long and significant history in central Louisiana, dating back to the early twentieth century;
9and
10 WHEREAS before becoming Central Louisiana Electric Company, with its original
11roots in the ice business, the company was originally the Louisiana Ice & Electric Company,
12founded in 1906 in Bunkie, Louisiana; and
13 WHEREAS, when Cleco was officially established in 1935 as Central Louisiana
14Electric Company Inc.; with headquarters located in Pineville, Louisiana, it emerged during
15a time when rural electrification was still developing and many parts of central Louisiana
16lacked reliable power; and
17 WHEREAS, the company began by providing electricity to a small number of
18customers, expanding its reach through acquisitions and infrastructure development; and
19 WHEREAS, Cleco Power currently serves approximately two hundred ninety-five
20thousand customers in twenty-four parishes in Louisiana; and
21 WHEREAS, Cleco Power is one of the largest employers in Rapides Parish; and
Page 1 of 3 HLS 25RS-199 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 11
1 WHEREAS, it is being reported that Cleco Power is entertaining offers to sell the
2company; and
3 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (commission) is a
4constitutionally created regulatory agency and consists of five commissioners; and
5 WHEREAS, the commission has the jurisdiction to authorize the sale of a regulated
6utility under Article IV, Section 21(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana; and
7 WHEREAS, the approval of certain transactions is required pursuant to the
8commission's 1994 General Order regarding transfers of ownership or control of the
9commission's jurisdictional utilities; and
10 WHEREAS, in the 1994 General Order, the commission established eighteen factors
11to be considered when determining whether to approve the transfer of ownership or control
12of utilities and common carriers subject to the commission's jurisdiction; and
13 WHEREAS, one of the factors considered when approving the change of ownership
14or control of a regulated utility includes, "Whether the transfer will be fair and reasonable
15to the affected public utility or common carrier employees?"; and
16 WHEREAS, any sale that would reduce the jobs of central Louisiana residents would
17negatively impact the employees, economics, and entire population of central Louisiana.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
19urge and request the Public Service Commission to protect the jobs of central Louisiana
20employees and to only approve any sale, trade, or transaction transferring ownership of
21Cleco Power to any other entity if and only if there are adequate guarantees and safeguards
22that preserve the more than four hundred fifty nonservice jobs and one hundred percent of
23all service jobs currently located at headquarters in Pineville, Louisiana.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge
25and request the authorized parties to only approve the sale, trade, or transaction transferring
26ownership of Cleco Power to any other entity if and only if the more than four hundred fifty
27nonservice jobs and one hundred percent of all service jobs are retained at a headquarters
28located in Pineville, Louisiana, and that the jobs of employees of central Louisiana be
29maintained at their current level.
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HCR NO. 11
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
2Louisiana Public Service Commission and to Bill Fontenot, CEO and President of Cleco
3Power.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 11 Original 2025 Regular Session Mike Johnson
Urges and requests the La. Public Service Commission and Cleco Power to approve the sale
of a regulated utility only in certain circumstances.
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