Countywide : Regulators Limit Review of Merger

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission won’t consider environmental issues or whether San Diego Gas & Electric officials were coerced into accepting a proposed merger with Southern California Edison, according to a lengthy decision issued Wednesday by the FERC.

“The two things that regulators did agree to look at were the effects on costs and rates--the benefits of the merger--and the effects on competition in this region of the country,” an Edison spokeswoman said.

Commissioners will soon appoint an administrative law judge who will conduct hearings and make a recommendation to commissioners. The FERC agreed to expedite the hearings, the Edison spokeswoman said. The utilities hope to complete the proposed merger by March 30.

Commissioners on Wednesday ruled that their review would not cover environmental matters because opponents of the merger failed to prove that any pressing environmental issues exist. Commissioners also determined that the city of San Diego had failed to prove that SDG&E; officers and board members were coerced into accepting the merger offer from SCEcorp, Edison’s Rosemead-based parent company.

The commission rejected a request from several Southern California cities to simply deny the merger without holding hearings. Those cities, including Riverside and Anaheim, have been fighting for years for access to Edison’s electrical-transmission line grid. The cities maintained that the merger would be anti-competitive.

Shareholders of SDG&E;, SCEcorp and Edison last week approved the merger, which would create the nation’s largest gas and electric utility. The merger also must be approved by regulatory agencies, including the state Public Utilities Commission.