Edison International Details Lawsuits Against Company, Unit

Edison International Details Lawsuits Against Company, Unit
Dow Jones Online News, Tuesday, April 10, 2001 at 11:17
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Edison International (EIX) detailed the lawsuits
filed against the company and its Southern California Edison utility unit in
a filing Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Monday, SoCal Edison and the California Independent System Operator (ISO)
were sued in federal district court in Los Angeles by Inland Paperboard &
Packaging Inc., a company that owns a cogeneration facility. The lawsuit
seeks payment of $5.3 million for energy and capacity delivered to SoCal
Edison under a qualifying facilities, or QF, contract from November 2000
through March, plus additional and treble damages for alleged interference
with Inland Paperboard's ability to sell power to third parties.
Brea Power Partners L.P., a company that operates a landfill gas-fired plant,
filed a lawsuit against SoCal Edison and Edison International on April 5
seeking $1.65 million for energy and capacity delivered to SoCal Edison under
a QF contract from November 2000 through March, plus $24 million of
additional damages.
On April 3, SoCal Edison was served with a lawsuit filed by EF Oxnard Inc.,
the owner-operator of a cogeneration facility, seeking damages of at least
$13.5 million for nonpayment by SoCal Edison for power deliveries under a QF
contract from November 2000 through February.
Also on April 3, SoCal Edison was served with a lawsuit filed by four
cogeneration companies affiliated with Delta Power LLC seeking damages of at
least $42 million for nonpayment by SoCal Edison for power deliveries under
four QF contracts from November 2000 through February.
Watson Cogeneration Co., which operates a cogeneration facility, filed a
lawsuit on March 29 against SoCal Edison seeking payment of damages of at
least $150 million plus exemplary damages.
On March 28, SoCal Edison was served with a lawsuit filed by NP Cogen, the
owner-operator of a cogeneration facility. The amount of damages sought isn't
specified, but the complaint alleges that the amount owed by SoCal Edison is
about $8 million.
Also, IMC Chemicals Inc. is suing SoCal Edison for $2.8 million, a group of
wind energy suppliers affiliated with FPL Group has filed a suit seeking
"several million dollars," two geothermal energy suppliers affiliated with
Caithness Corp. filed a lawsuit seeking more than $20 million, and a group of
geothermal energy suppliers affiliated with CalEnergy Operating Co. filed a
lawsuit seeking immediate payment of $100 million plus exemplary damages.
According to Tuesday's SEC filing, several other owners or operators of
qualifying facilities have given SoCal Edison letters demanding that the
company pay them past-due amounts, requesting approval to sell their energy
and capacity to third parties, and in some cases threatening legal action.
As reported, Edison struck a deal with California Gov. Gray Davis on Monday,
under which the state would purchase SoCal Edison's transmission system for
$2.76 billion. The state also would make other financial arrangements that
would allow the company to repay some $3.5 billion in accumulated power
bills.
-By Lisa Kinney, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-393-7845
(This story was originally published by Dow Jones Newswires)
Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.