PUC OKs Edison Deal With L.A. Times

The state Public Utilities Commission voted to allow Southern California Edison to continue soliciting subscriptions for the Los Angeles Times. The Energy Division staff had recommended that the arrangement, begun in November 1998, be discontinued because the utility, a unit of Edison International in Rosemead, failed to ask the PUC for permission to offer the service. PUC rules require investor-owned utilities to get PUC approval for any new service as part of the continuing restructuring of the California electricity industry. Under the agreement, operators at Edison’s call center ask people who phone to establish electrical service if they would also like to subscribe to the The Times, which is published by Los Angeles-based Times Mirror Co. The PUC ruled that the arrangement qualifies as an existing service because Edison formerly solicited business through its call center for an affiliate company. The PUC told Edison that it could continue the service as a pilot program for six months, but that the utility must file an advice letter with the PUC for continuing authorization of the service.