2 of 3 California PUC commisioners TOTALLY brain dead!! At least the third has some common sense.
Calif. PUC issues restraining order
Move could hasten bankruptcy filings, commission says
By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 6:37 PM ET Jan 19, 2001
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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- California regulators issued a temporary restraining order Friday requiring Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to continue providing service.
The move could force the state's beleaguered utilities into bankruptcy, one commissioner said.
The measure passed 2 to 1.
The dissenting commissioner, Henry Duque said the move will "simply poison the atmosphere between government and the utilities, thereby making communications even more difficult in this time of crisis." The action "may even make a bankruptcy filing more likely," he said.
The order requires the utilities to continue "their legal obligation to serve all customers," according to a press release issued by the California Public Utilities Commission.
Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric are the utility units of Edison International (EIX: news, msgs) and PG&E Corp. (PCG: news, msgs) .
"We're taking this step out of an abundance of caution," CPUC President Loretta Lynch said during the meeting.
"We will continue to provide all electric service that is available from the power sellers to the citizens and businesses of California," she said.
Lynch would not allow any communication from the parties at the brief emergency meeting. "Parties will have a full and fair opportunity to discuss this issues as noted in the order," Lynch said. The commission plans further hearings Jan. 29.
California's grid operator and Energy Oversight Board informed the commission that the two utilities "have stated their intent to review their scheduling coordination role and responsibilities starting tomorrow, January 20," the CPUC said.
According to the press release, this could mean that Edison and PG&E "would not serve a significant portion of their customers."
Edison and PG&E have come close to bankruptcy as they buy wholesale power at unregulated spot market rates and resell it to consumers at rates capped by the commission. See related coverage.
In the draft resolution discussed at the meeting, the commission said "state law clearly requires utilities to serve their customers, and a threatened bankruptcy filing or threat of insolvency does not change that obligation."
Bitter reaction
Edison and PG&E officials reacted bitterly to the order saying it was unnecessary and a waste of time.
The move is "an insult to the ethic of the 13,000 employees of SCE who have worked to keep the lights on for their customers," said John Bryson, chairman and CEO of Edison International, in a statement. "SCE has borrowed billions of dollars, which threatens the company's solvency, through 81/2 months of inaction and delay by the CPUC, in order to continue to serve its customers," he said.
Gordon Smith, president and chief executive of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said the action "does nothing to prevent the rotating outages that have plagued California." |
