Changes to Regulatory Asset Bill Get PG&E Back on Board

Facing a ticking clock with every day of delay costing ratepayers an extra $300,000 in fees, the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee voted out a bill mandating new ratepayer contributions to refinance $2.21 billion of Pacific Gas & Electric?s bankruptcy settlement. ?No one?s happy with the end result,? said SB 772 author Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach). But, she added, ?It?s pragmatic.? Less than an hour before the March 31 hearing, amendments that require those who have never taken service from PG&E to pay a share of the refinancing?with the California Public Utilities Commission determining how much those rates should be?were approved. These changes brought PG&E?s crucial support back to the bill. PG&E pulled its support for the bill last week in protest of amendments introduced March 22. The amendments would have required only those customers who have received power from the utility to pay the nonbypassable charge to cover PG&E?s $2.21 billion regulatory asset. Munis had fought for that language. California Municipal Utilities Association executive director Jerry Jordan questioned the fairness of the final bill, holding that the new language could stunt the influx of out-of-state businesses. ?I wouldn?t want to move to California if I knew I had to pay for electricity I didn?t use when I wasn?t there,? he said. ?Talk about antibusiness development!? The bill passed on a 10-0 vote, with U&C chair Sarah Reyes (D-Fresno) saying that it saves ratepayers in general $1 billion, and deflecting the argument over exactly how much different classes of customers will pay. ?I don?t like these amendments, but my read of the tea leaves is it won?t even get a majority vote? if the amendments weren?t approved, said Bowen. The bill moves to the Appropriations Committee. It needs a two-thirds final vote because it is tagged as an ?urgency? bill. As of April 2, legislative delays in making PG&E?s dedicated rate component part of state law have cost the utility?s ratepayers an estimated $28 million in bankruptcy-tab savings (see Circuit , Feb. 13, 2004). Jason Mihos also contributed to this report.

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Changes to Regulatory Asset Bill Get PG&E Back on Board

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