Voters Will Give Views of Merger : Utilities: Supervisors authorizes advisory measure on proposed Edison takeover of San Diego Gas & Electric for November ballot.

The result will be non-binding, but San Diego County residents will get a chance in November to vote on San Diego Gas & Electric’s proposed merger with Southern California Edison.

County supervisors agreed Tuesday to stage the advisory vote on the controversial merger that is now being studied by federal and state regulators. The advisory measure, which evidently will take place during the already scheduled general election, will cost an estimated $30,000.

SDG&E; believes the vote “could be a very costly public opinion survey,” Karen Hutchens, SDG&E;’s director of governmental affairs, said Tuesday. “We think it is unnecessary but we respect the right of the Board of Supervisors to call for this public advisory vote.”

SDG&E; “has no plans to spend money on advertising to influence the public vote,” Hutchens said. Edison spokesman Lewis Phelps declined Tuesday to comment on the board’s decision. Merger opponents on Tuesday applauded the November vote.

“This is the right move, I’m encouraged by the county’s action,” said Michael Shames, executive director of Utility Consumers Action Network, a San Diego-based consumer group that opposes the merger. “The (state Public Utilities Commission) will have completed its public hearings by November and the vote will carry more weight because it will be an informed vote.”

Shames described the scheduled vote as “very unique, a rare circumstance . . . but, again, the PUC has already acknowledged that this is probably the biggest case of the decade.” Shames predicted that the two utilities would unveil an advertising campaign aimed at winning support among San Diegans. “I really don’t think they’ll ignore it,” Shames said. “I think they’ll spend a whole lot of money.”

The measure’s actual language won’t be determined until July. Shames suggested that the “county keep it short and simple: ‘Should Edison’s proposed merger or takeover of SDG&E; be approved?’ ”