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Enron Mail |
Hey, the last I heard -- Tuesday -- there wasn't going to be any legislation
-- and that's why the Gov and Lynch were taking their strong and ugly stances? Whast happened? Did we try to get some language in there? Seems as if we were out-played Jeff Dasovich on 08/11/2000 09:58:07 AM To: Richard Shapiro/HOU/EES@EES, Steve Kean, Sandra McCubbin/SFO/EES@EES, Mona L Petrochko/SFO/EES@EES, Susan J Mara/SFO/EES@EES, Karen Denne/Corp/Enron@Enron, Peggy Mahoney/HOU/EES@EES, mpalmer@enron.com, James D Steffes/HOU/EES@EES, Paul Kaufman@EES, Mary Hain@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Joe Hartsoe/Corp/Enron@Enron, Cynthia Sandherr/Corp/Enron@Enron, Sarah Novosel/Corp/Enron@Enron, Bruno Gaillard/SFO/EES@EES cc: Subject: Energy rate relief bill gets OK State Senate passes rollback; legislation to go to Assembly Energy rate relief bill gets OK State Senate passes rollback; legislation to go to Assembly By Ed Mendel STAFF WRITER August 11, 2000 SACRAMENTO -- The state Senate approved legislation yesterday that would cut San Diego's soaring electric bills by half and could credit consumers for excess rates paid since June 1. The measure, if passed by the Assembly and signed by the governor, would reduce bills to the level San Diego Gas & Electric Co. customers were paying in July 1999. While customer payments would be cut in half, however, SDG&E ratepayers could be liable in several years for the balance. The credit to consumers would hinge on a finding of improper overcharges by power companies. The rollback-and-reimbursement measure -- carried by two San Diego Democrats, Sen. Dede Alpert and Assemblywoman Susan Davis -- sailed out of the Senate with support from 24 Democrats and four Republicans. All three of the Republicans who represent parts of San Diego County voted for the bill. The 27th vote needed for two-thirds approval of the urgency measure came from Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Oceanside. "We have a dysfunctional market that is not working and has been just so incredibly painful for the people I represent," Alpert told the Senate. "We need your help. We need it now." San Diego is the first area of the state fully affected by deregulation legislation enacted four years ago. But other areas will be deregulated within two years, and legislators do not want soaring rates in their districts. A vote on the Alpert-Davis bill in the Assembly was delayed for at least a week because of potential opposition from Republicans. Gov. Gray Davis, who is proposing a similar reduction that would not be retroactive to June 1, has taken no position on the bill. "It's important to keep this bill moving along," said Morrow, who said he struggled with the vote because the bill does nothing to speed up the construction of new power plants. The bill, AB 2290, would cut rates to the July 1, 1999, level and make the reduction retroactive to June 1 of this year. State and federal regulatory agencies would be asked to determine if San Diego ratepayers have been improperly overcharged. In the years ahead, San Diego ratepayers could be reimbursed for high rates paid this summer through a credit that would lower their monthly bills -- but only if the investigation finds an improper overcharge and that repayment can be collected from those responsible. Alpert said the cost of the credit could be born by energy generators for overcharging, SDG&E for failing to make cheaper energy purchases, and the state and federal government for not protecting ratepayers. "I don't think anybody believes anybody is going to be 100 percent responsible for this," Alpert said. The governor Wednesday asked the Public Utilities Commission to meet Aug. 21 and reduce rates for SDG&E customers by half, dropping a typical residential bill from the current level of $120 a month to $65. The governor's plan is similar to the Alpert-Davis bill, but it's not retroactive to June 1 and would take effect this month. Critics of the governor's plan doubt that an investigation will result in the recovery of an overcharge from generators, marketers or SDG&E. Nettie Hoge, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, said that what Davis has proposed is likely to be not a true rate reduction, but simply a plan to spread the payment of high rates over several years. "San Diegans can't afford a pay now and pay later scheme," Hoge said. "They are in the midst of an economic and public health crisis." The Alpert-Davis bill needs at least six Republican votes for approval in the Assembly. Alpert said two Assembly Republicans representing parts of San Diego, Charlene Zettel of Poway and Pat Bates of Laguna Niguel, support the bill and are listed as co-authors. She hopes to get support from three other San Diego County Republicans: Steve Baldwin of El Cajon, Howard Kaloogian of Encinitas and Bruce Thompson of Fallbrook. Assembly GOP Leader Scott Baugh of Huntington Beach said the bill should be heard in committees, rather than simply put up for a vote on the house floors without public hearings. "To just ram through a rate rollback, a rate freeze and a rate reimbursement does nothing to address the underlying problems that created the energy shortage," he said. Baugh said he would like a discussion of the contention by some that rebate checks that began going out to SDG&E customers this week will solve much of the problem this year. He said standby generators could be built within six months to provide power in periods of peak demand to protect San Diegans from high rates next summer. The rebate checks are a $390 million refund for overcharges related to deregulation and amount to $260 for the average household. An additional $100 million refund will take the form of a credit on bills for August and September, totaling $34 for the typical residence. At a legislative committee hearing on deregulation, Sen. Steve Peace, D-El Cajon, clashed with Loretta Lynch, president of the Public Utilities Commission. He said the refund checks only go to residences and small businesses, not medium-sized businesses hurt by high rates. Copyright 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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