The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, April 7, edition that Fortis's $11.3-billion acquisition of electricity transmission company ITC Holdings is the largest power deal announced so far this year -- and one of the largest ever recorded involving a Canadian company. The Globe's Jacqueline Nelson writes that Fortis's aim was to broaden its United States footprint through ITC's high-voltage transmission facilities. More large power deals are expected. When TransCanada announced its $12-billion deal for Houston-based Columbia Pipeline Group in March -- the largest deal announced this year so far in any sector -- it said it would sell a range of power assets to help pay for the sale. TransCanada's U.S. portfolio now on the block could be worth several billion dollars and is made up of merchant power plants and facilities, including a New York-based power plant it purchased in 2008 for about $2.8-billion. Driving this power-deal activity in Canada and abroad is a confluence of factors that includes consolidation among smaller utility companies, shifts to cleaner power sources, regulatory changes and corporate strategic reviews, among many other causes.