Two months after acquiring Bangor Natural Gas, a New Hampshire-based utility has struck a deal that will further expand its Maine holdings.
Unitil announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to buy Maine Natural Gas Company from Avangrid for $86 million.
The acquisition, which must be approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, is expected to be finalized by the end of 2025, according to Unitil, at which point Maine Natural Gas will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Unitil.
Maine Natural Gas Company was founded in 1999 and serves roughly 6,300 residential and commercial customers in nine communities in Greater Portland and Augusta, according to Unitil. The utility’s system includes roughly 230 miles of distribution mains, which Unitil said will provide “opportunities for continued customer growth.”
Unitil operates in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, serving 109,400 electric customers and 97,600 natural gas customers, a figure that includes its acquisition of Bangor Natural Gas Company at the end of January.
Unitil’s chairman and chief executive officer, Thomas Meissner, Jr., called the Maine Natural Gas system “highly complementary to our existing natural gas distribution operations in Maine.”