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Enron Mail |
The governor thinks the state can require wholesale rebates
-- Forwarded Message -- <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 Re
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