ENERGY

PG&E; Proposes Electric Deregulation Plan: Expanding on an earlier proposal to the California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. asked the PUC to let it offer 200 of its largest industrial customers their choice of power generators for three years starting next January. The San Francisco-based utility, which has a service territory stretching from Bakersfield to the Oregon border, proposed that all the state’s investor-owned utilities begin the limited experiment in an electricity marketplace while other deregulation issues--including how to fund low-income and energy-efficiency programs--are debated. An executive at Southern California Edison said that company is studying the PG&E; proposal but is concerned that “all customer groups benefit from competition, not just the largest businesses.”