From Warsaw To SF, The Roots Of Edison’s Historic Fine
by Chuck McFadden, Capitol Weekly
By Luke Jones from Anchorage / Creative Commons
The California Public Utilities Commission has begun to dig its way out of a monumental problem in public perception by imposing a $16.74 million fine on Southern California Edison.
On a 4-0 voice vote, the five-member commission levied the unprecedented fine as punishment for failing to disclose a series of meetings and emails, and for providing misleading testimony pertaining to the costs of shutting down the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Southern California Edison owns 70 percent of the station, located on the north San Diego County coast.
The fine was the culmination of years of questions, suspicions and wrangling. The commission’s approval of the unprecedented penalty took just a bit more than five minutes during a Thursday meeting at the CPUC’s San Francisco headquarters.
And the story isn’t over yet.
Commissioner Michael Florio abstained because he was part of one of the unreported contacts.
The action was designed to be “a culture-changing remedy,” said Commissioner Catherine Sandoval.
Left hanging was the question of whether the commission would revisit a previously approved settlement deal that has ratepayers coughing up to 70 percent of the $4.7 billion cost of shutting down San Onofre. The settlement was reached before disclosure of the unreported meetings.
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Tags: 2015 Legislation, CPUC, PG&E, Southern California Edison