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Shocker! CPUC unanimously thumbs down SDG&E

Local utility won't be able to pass on 2007 fire costs to ratepayers

Downtown San Diego skyline during the 2007 wildfires
Downtown San Diego skyline during the 2007 wildfires

After a battle that has gone on for a decade, the California Public Utilities Commission today (November 30) stunned observers by unanimously declaring that San Diego Gas & Electric cannot pass along to ratepayers $379 million of uninsured costs of the 2007 San Diego wildfires.

There is a long history here. First, a commissioner slipped the sting on ratepayers into a document that was not related to the fires. Local activists caught the ruse and an embarrassed commission voted that San Diego Gas & Electric could not pass on these costs to ratepayers. Earlier, two regulatory bodies, including one that is part of the utilities commission, said SDG&E's negligence was to blame for the fires.

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But those who know how the utilities commission operates said that SDG&E and the commission would try again. They did. But ratepayers complained bitterly at local meetings. Ratepayers are not supposed to pay for mistakes by management. Two administrative law judges said ratepayers should not have to pay. The commission delayed its decision four times. Finally, it ruled today in favor of the administrative law judges: the ratepayers shouldn't have to pay for the egregious mistakes of management.

Also today, San Diego attorneys Maria Severson and Mike Aguirre released a comprehensive study showing how the commission is run by the three investor-owned utilities — Sempra (SDG&E's parent), Edison International, and Pacific Gas & Electric — it is supposed to regulate. The report shows how the commission through the years has kowtowed to Wall Street, assuring analysts that the regulator is obsessively concerned about utility profits.

Much of the eye-opening material has been reported in the Reader and in other publications, but I had never seen the report on one incident: "Internal emails showed Wall Street analysts threatened to lower their utility stock recommendations unless the governor kept the [commission] free from consumer protection appointees. The current [commission] board is made up exclusively for former governor appointees and staff," says the report.

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Downtown San Diego skyline during the 2007 wildfires
Downtown San Diego skyline during the 2007 wildfires

After a battle that has gone on for a decade, the California Public Utilities Commission today (November 30) stunned observers by unanimously declaring that San Diego Gas & Electric cannot pass along to ratepayers $379 million of uninsured costs of the 2007 San Diego wildfires.

There is a long history here. First, a commissioner slipped the sting on ratepayers into a document that was not related to the fires. Local activists caught the ruse and an embarrassed commission voted that San Diego Gas & Electric could not pass on these costs to ratepayers. Earlier, two regulatory bodies, including one that is part of the utilities commission, said SDG&E's negligence was to blame for the fires.

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But those who know how the utilities commission operates said that SDG&E and the commission would try again. They did. But ratepayers complained bitterly at local meetings. Ratepayers are not supposed to pay for mistakes by management. Two administrative law judges said ratepayers should not have to pay. The commission delayed its decision four times. Finally, it ruled today in favor of the administrative law judges: the ratepayers shouldn't have to pay for the egregious mistakes of management.

Also today, San Diego attorneys Maria Severson and Mike Aguirre released a comprehensive study showing how the commission is run by the three investor-owned utilities — Sempra (SDG&E's parent), Edison International, and Pacific Gas & Electric — it is supposed to regulate. The report shows how the commission through the years has kowtowed to Wall Street, assuring analysts that the regulator is obsessively concerned about utility profits.

Much of the eye-opening material has been reported in the Reader and in other publications, but I had never seen the report on one incident: "Internal emails showed Wall Street analysts threatened to lower their utility stock recommendations unless the governor kept the [commission] free from consumer protection appointees. The current [commission] board is made up exclusively for former governor appointees and staff," says the report.

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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
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