LOS ANGELES COUNTY - News from Aug. 8, 1994

Alternative Vehicle Hearings Begin: Hearings by the California Public Utilities Commission open Monday in San Francisco involving plans by the state’s investor-owned electric and gas utilities to charge their customers for programs to support the introduction of electric and natural gas vehicles to meet the state’s clean air plan. The proposed projects over the next six years include installation of electric recharging and gas refueling stations, as well as other infrastructure development. Consumer groups have challenged some projects, charging that they unfairly force ratepayers to pay some of the costs of promoting the use of alternative vehicles. Plans that totaled more than $600 million have already been scaled down by the utilities. The hearings will run three weeks, with a final PUC decision expected early in 1995.