Utilities commission "violence" unacceptable

San Francisco Superior Court judge Ernest H. Goldsmith decreed February 9 that emails between the office of governor Jerry Brown and the California Public Utilities Commission must be made public.

San Diego attorneys Maria Severson and Mike Aguirre have been fighting for release of the emails that pertain to the secret deal by which ratepayers were told to pick up the tab for most of the $4 billion cost of decommissioning the now-shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant.

The attorney general's office, which has a criminal investigation of secret meetings between the utilities commission and Southern California Edison, asked for commission records that are "nearly identical" to those sought by the San Diego lawyers, noted the judge.

The commission argued that the matter could not be decided at the Superior Court level and had to go to the appellate court. Goldsmith thumbed down the argument, saying that this is not a mere regulatory matter.

The commission interpretation "would do violence to the right of citizens in a democracy to know the actions taken by their public officials," wrote Goldsmith.

Severson says she wouldn't be surprised if the commission appeals the decision.