ENERGY

Unusual Allies File Emergency Motion With PUC: Gas utilities have joined with consumer groups Toward Utility Rate Normalization and the PUC’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates to call for swift Public Utilities Commission approval of an order to allow Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co. to make individual deals with their largest commercial and industrial customers. The utilities and the consumer groups say the utilities need this action to compete with new independent natural-gas pipelines in the state. If large customers leave the utilities’ system, the groups fear, residential and small-business ratepayers could be forced to bear all the utilities’ fixed costs. This could increase gas costs to homes and businesses by more than $200 million annually, according to estimates by TURN.