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Enron Mail |
Hey we got press in the "Inland Daily Bulletin" -- from one of our new AReM members
-----Original Message----- From: Manuel, Erica [mailto:Erica.Manuel@edelman.com] Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 10:29 AM To: Allen, Stevan; AReM; Douglas Oglesby (E-mail) (E-mail); Fairchild, Tracy; Frank; Joseph Alamo (E-mail) (E-mail); Manuel, Erica; Megan Beiser; Norm Plotkin; Warner, Jami Subject: Inland Daily Bulletin story about AReM The following article was published in the Inland Daily Bulletin yesterday. As you will see, both Frank and I are quoted (even though I explicitly requested that I not be quoted since I am not a spokesperson for coalition). Nevertheless, our messages are made pretty clear. Also, I apologize for not sending this sooner - It was somehow overlooked in our daily searches for AReM coverage. Erica Manuel Edelman Worldwide / Sacramento 916/442-2331 phone 916/447-8509 fax erica.manuel@edelman.com Esp provider Published Thursday, August 30, 2001 12:00:00 AM By Mike Rappaport Staff Writer Frank Annunziato of Upland has been providing electric power to nearly 200 customers for about four years. But if a draft decision by the California Public Utilities Commission is voted into effect next Thursday, Annunziato and 20 to 25 other members of the Alliance for Retail Energy Markets will take a hit. The decision would prohibit electrical service providers like Annunizato from entering into new contracts to provide direct-access power to customers, and the revised version released Monday would take the original effective date of Sept. 1, 2001, and make it retroactive to July 1. Electrical service providers purchase power from various sources - in Annunziato's case it's the excess from municipal power authorities - and sell that power to customers who would rather not buy from Southern California Edison. "That was one of the purposes of deregulation," Annunziato said. "To open up the market and give people choices of where to buy their power." Annunziato's company, American Utility Network, services nearly 200 Southern California customers. He is able to provide low-cost power because he signed long-term contracts for power before prices skyrocketed. In the short term, a restriction on new contracts won't affect him. "I'm not taking on any new customers right now anyway," he said. "I'm limited in the amount of power I have, and I'm pretty close to capacity." But not being able to renew those contracts - or to sign up other customers to replace those who would leave normally - will eventually put him out of business. The Alliance for Retail Energy Markets is the lobbying group that represents Annunziato and other independent providers. AReM opposes the PUC draft decision and calls it "an illegal act under the U.S. Constitution to abrogate existing contracts." "This decision just came out of left field," said AReM spokeswoman Erica Manuel. "They claim they need to do this to protect the state's ability to issue bonds, but it doesn't make sense. We certainly don't want retroactive suspensions and we will try to prevent any lengthy suspensions." As of July, independent providers had 60,000 residential customers, 6,800 commercial customers, 250 industrial customers and 350 agricultural customers across California, according to Manuel. "These are existing contracts," she said. "At this point, if they try to negate existing contracts there will be a legal battle." Kyle DeVine at the PUC said Monday's announcement was only a draft decision and that nothing would happen before Sept. 6. "It has not taken effect," she said. "All this is just part of the comments we're looking for." Mike Rappaport can be reached by e-mail at m_rappaport@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8556.
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