ENERGY

Edison Seeks to Stop Electricity Auction: Southern California Edison Co. petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stop the California Public Utilities Commission from proceeding with a controversial auction of billions of dollars worth of contracts to independent producers of electricity from wind and other renewable resources. The utility has long contended that it does not need the new power, which it estimated Friday will cost customers $3.3 billion more than necessary over the life of the contracts. The independents, who won contracts in an auction begun by the PUC more than five years ago, say their power is actually cheaper than that from some Edison power plants. Edison charged Friday that the PUC auction violates FERC rules and provisions of the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act.