Activists Hail Assessment of Utilities’ Merger Plans : Environment: Opponents say that consolidating two electricity providers would raise pollution levels in the county. The companies say they would act to offset any increase.

Ventura County environmentalists cheered a recommendation Friday that the state reject the proposed merger of Southern California Edison Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

But a spokesman for Edison said the utility still believes ratepayers would benefit from the merger.

The reactions followed a ruling by two administrative law judges in San Francisco, who said the proposed $2.6-billion merger of the two utilities would create unfair competition for smaller utilities.

Judges Lynn Carew and Brian Cragg recommended that the California Public Utilities Commission reject the merger.

Ventura County environmentalists and the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley and Ojai have opposed the merger.

Among their concerns is a plan to phase out older power plants in San Diego and shift more electrical generation to two Oxnard plants.

The opponents argued that the strategy would add hundreds of tons of pollutants to the county’s air each year.

Edison has said that while there would be an initial increase in pollutants, offsetting measures would drastically reduce emissions in several years.

Patricia Baggerly, a member of the Ventura Environmental Coalition, said Friday’s ruling “really does substantiate the conclusions of the citizens.”

“We don’t think the people of Ventura County should have to suffer five years of poor air quality because of the merger,” Baggerly said.

“We are very pleased,” said Marc Chytilo, chief counsel of the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center, a coalition of lawyers representing environmental advocates. “It’s just another nail in the merger coffin.”

The Board of Supervisors, acting as the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District Board, agreed last year it would not oppose the merger.

The board adopted that position after Edison promised to offset additional air pollution by helping oil companies replace the gas-powered engines operating their wells with electric motors.

Southern California Edison spokesman Lew Phelps noted that agreement Friday, saying that the utility continues to believe the merger “is in the public interest.”

Phelps said that electrifying the oil well engines would remove 1.7 pounds of pollutants from the air for every additional pound of pollutants released by increased power output at Southern California Edison’s plants at Ormond Beach and Mandalay Bay.

But Stan Greene, a spokesman for Citizens to Protect the Ojai Valley, expressed doubt about Edison’s goodwill in curbing pollution.

Greene said Edison has been resisting requests to install catalytic pollution control equipment at the plants, which would more effectively cut pollution in Ventura County, he said.

“I seriously question Southern California Edison’s intentions,” Greene said. “They’re squirming like a fish on a hook to try every other thing possible.”

Staff writer Tina Daunt contributed to this article.

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