Los Angeles County - News from Dec. 19, 1994

Tilting at Windmills: The California Public Utilities Commission could resolve a highly public fight between Southern California Edison Co. and independent power producers at its scheduled hearing Wednesday in San Francisco. The utility is contesting a PUC-mandated auction in which Edison would be required to enter long-term contracts to buy electricity from independents that include wind energy, geothermal and other renewable-fuel sources. In full-page newspaper ads and other venues, Edison has argued that it does not need the additional power and that signing the contracts would unnecessarily raise ratepayer costs by more than $1 billion from 1997 through the year 2003 alone. The independents, led by the Independent Energy Producers Assn., contend in their own ad campaign that while Edison may not need more electricity right away, theirs is cheaper than power now being made by some older Edison-owned facilities, which should be retired. The auction is a legacy of the 1970s oil shocks, when state agencies forged support of renewable and domestic energy sources. The auction also predates the PUC’s proposal last spring to deregulate the electric utility industry. Edison says signing now would burden the utility with a new set of long-term financial obligations just as it enters the uncharted world of competition. Last week, the utility asked commissioners to hold off their decision until it completes less expensive deals to option, not buy, power from the independents.