Dive Brief:

• Avista Corp. is buying the parent company of Juneau, Alaska utility Alaska Electric Light & Power (AEL&P) for approximately $170 million. AEL&P has more than 14,500 customers who use 293 million kilowatt-hours annually. 
• The deal announced Monday is a rare acquisition for Spokane, Washington-based Avista, which serves parts of Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

Dive Insight: 

Parent company Alaska Energy and Resources owns a transmission and distribution system as well as 10 generation facilities, most of them hydroelectric. Both parties expect regulatory approvals to be noncontroversial.