Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Reverse "rape of the ratepayer"

Consumer group retracts opinion regarding San Onofre shutdown

Michael Picker and Michael Peevey
Michael Picker and Michael Peevey

In a strongly worded statement, San Francisco–based consumer group TURN (The Utility Reform Network) asked the California Public Utilities Commission to set aside its decision to stick ratepayers with an almost $3.3 billion bill for the shutting down of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

TURN had been one of four entities that had originally proposed the settlement, which the Reader has named the "rape of the ratepayer." The other three were the utility commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates, and utilities San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In demanding a reopening of the decision, TURN joined the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility. San Diego attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson have battled the commission's decision, pointing out that ratepayers would get stuck with the bill without getting any power in return, and that the failure of the nuclear plant resulted from management blunders, for which shareholders should take the hit.

In the filing, the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility says the "failure of [Edison] to disclose its extensive communications with former president [Michael] Peevey represents fraud by concealment" that influenced TURN to go along with the settlement that "unfairly disadvantaged TURN and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates in the settlement negotiations."

As previously reported by the Reader, Union-Tribune, and other media, Peevey, a former president of Edison, drew up an outline for a possible settlement at a secret meeting with an Edison official in Warsaw, Poland. There were also numerous sub rosa meetings between Peevey and other commission officials and Edison.

"TURN agrees that recent disclosures detailing extensive communications between [Edison] and CPUC decisionmakers during the pendency of this proceeding are very troubling," says the filing, taking note that Peevey is under federal and state criminal investigation for his role in clandestine meetings that basically gave such a generous settlement to the utilities and fleeced consumers.

"TURN said reopening the case could go a long way toward restoring the commission's credibility, which sank to an all-time low under Peevey," said TURN in a news release.

Matt Freedman, attorney for TURN, said, "Ongoing federal and state investigations that caused the disclosure of the Warsaw note may lead to criminal indictments."

TURN executive director Mark Toney said, "The reign of terror at the CPUC is over."

However, many who watch commission activities are not convinced that it is on the road to reform. Peevey's replacement, Michael Picker, seems cut from the same cloth, and the commission has not yet disciplined staff members who participated in the back-channel activities favoring utility profits over consumer fairness.

Stock of Edison International, parent of Southern California Edison, dropped 2.71 percent today (June 24) and Sempra Energy, parent of San Diego Gas & Electric, declined 1.51 percent. However, the overall market was down sharply.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Michael Picker and Michael Peevey
Michael Picker and Michael Peevey

In a strongly worded statement, San Francisco–based consumer group TURN (The Utility Reform Network) asked the California Public Utilities Commission to set aside its decision to stick ratepayers with an almost $3.3 billion bill for the shutting down of the San Onofre nuclear power plant.

TURN had been one of four entities that had originally proposed the settlement, which the Reader has named the "rape of the ratepayer." The other three were the utility commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates, and utilities San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In demanding a reopening of the decision, TURN joined the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility. San Diego attorneys Mike Aguirre and Maria Severson have battled the commission's decision, pointing out that ratepayers would get stuck with the bill without getting any power in return, and that the failure of the nuclear plant resulted from management blunders, for which shareholders should take the hit.

In the filing, the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility says the "failure of [Edison] to disclose its extensive communications with former president [Michael] Peevey represents fraud by concealment" that influenced TURN to go along with the settlement that "unfairly disadvantaged TURN and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates in the settlement negotiations."

As previously reported by the Reader, Union-Tribune, and other media, Peevey, a former president of Edison, drew up an outline for a possible settlement at a secret meeting with an Edison official in Warsaw, Poland. There were also numerous sub rosa meetings between Peevey and other commission officials and Edison.

"TURN agrees that recent disclosures detailing extensive communications between [Edison] and CPUC decisionmakers during the pendency of this proceeding are very troubling," says the filing, taking note that Peevey is under federal and state criminal investigation for his role in clandestine meetings that basically gave such a generous settlement to the utilities and fleeced consumers.

"TURN said reopening the case could go a long way toward restoring the commission's credibility, which sank to an all-time low under Peevey," said TURN in a news release.

Matt Freedman, attorney for TURN, said, "Ongoing federal and state investigations that caused the disclosure of the Warsaw note may lead to criminal indictments."

TURN executive director Mark Toney said, "The reign of terror at the CPUC is over."

However, many who watch commission activities are not convinced that it is on the road to reform. Peevey's replacement, Michael Picker, seems cut from the same cloth, and the commission has not yet disciplined staff members who participated in the back-channel activities favoring utility profits over consumer fairness.

Stock of Edison International, parent of Southern California Edison, dropped 2.71 percent today (June 24) and Sempra Energy, parent of San Diego Gas & Electric, declined 1.51 percent. However, the overall market was down sharply.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Birdwatching bonanza, earliest sunset of the year, bulb planting time

Venus shines its brightest
Next Article

San Diego Holiday Experiences

As soon as Halloween is over, it's Christmas time in my mind
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader