Here's something you might be interested in.
An administrative law judge of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has ruled that Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), co-owners of the now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant, must justify customer charges at meetings in March — March 15 for Edison and a week later for SDGE. The ruling was in response to filings by San Diego attorney Mike Aguirre, who says that Edison has been stalling for months, getting extensions from CPUC bureaucrats who weren't famiilar with legal requirements. Meanwhile, Edison and San Diego gas customers have paid $115 to $140 a year for a steam generator replacement program that was a flop; generators lasted less than two years. The utilities will now have to show that these charges have been reasonable, so they can try to put these costs into customers' rates, says Aguirre.
An administrative law judge of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has ruled that Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE), co-owners of the now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant, must justify customer charges at meetings in March — March 15 for Edison and a week later for SDGE. The ruling was in response to filings by San Diego attorney Mike Aguirre, who says that Edison has been stalling for months, getting extensions from CPUC bureaucrats who weren't famiilar with legal requirements. Meanwhile, Edison and San Diego gas customers have paid $115 to $140 a year for a steam generator replacement program that was a flop; generators lasted less than two years. The utilities will now have to show that these charges have been reasonable, so they can try to put these costs into customers' rates, says Aguirre.
Because we can?
Brightraven: I doubt the utilities can show that the charges were reasonable, because SDGE and SCE customers were getting nothing in return for their payments, but the CPUC is more interested in utility profits than ratepayer fairness. Best, Don Bauder
Any sign of incompetence has a more than even chance of being representative of the whole.
Indeed. It's William of Occam's principle of parsimony at it's most basic. One should always choose the simplest explanation of a phenomenon, the one that requires the fewest leaps of logic.
I tried "Occam's razor" once, but it just didn't work as well as Schick. But I give him an "E" for effort!
dwbat: Stick with the big enchilada: Gillette. Best, Don Bauder
tomjohnston: But with the CPUC and the utilities, obfuscation is the path to getting away with murder. Best, Don Bauder
Twister: With the CPUC, we're often talking of corruption, not incompetence. Often, the regulator, after finding that it has been wrong, says that a utility's corruption was simply incompetence. Best, Don Bauder
Good POINT, Don. Thou hast cast off the cataracts from mine eyes!
And I thought I knew all their dirty tricks.
their smarmy lawyers are working on plausible explanation as we type.
Murphyjunk: No doubt. Smarminess camouflages crookedness. Best, Don Bauder
Maximum plausible deniability. Remember the Tricky Dick gang?
Taxpayers are owed refunds from the utilities and unsafe San Onofre nuclear power plant should be shuttered permanently.
Thank you for this report, Don Bauder. Can ratepayers send comments to the CPUC before the March meetings of SDG&E and Southern California Edison to reinforce the judge's finding that they are being ripped off?
And thank you to intrepid lawyer Mike Aguirre for continuing to protect the public interest.
monaghan: Go to the CPUC website and get the email address of the big honcho, Mike Peevey. Flood him with emails. Best, Don Bauder
Please (anybody) send suggested text, with references to the relevant facts.