Edison Wants to Clear the Board on Fraud

A few days before the California Public Utilities Commission was scheduled to consider approving revenue increases in Southern California Edison?s general rate case, the utility offered $12 million in customer refunds to make amends for its employees? fraudulent behavior. The CPUC ended up tabling the general rate case decision at its May 27 meeting after commissioner Carl Wood signaled he wanted to change his alternate decision, which would allow Edison to collect performance incentives. Edison offered the customer payback last week to wipe the slate clean following a disclosure in March by John Bryson, Edison International?s chair, that a dozen or more employees falsified surveys used to help determine performance awards. Bryson calculated that $48 million in earned and pending awards granted by the CPUC over several years could be at risk because of the misconduct (see Circuit , March 19, 2004). The utility has said it has not finished investigating the extent of the fraud. Last month, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates filed a petition to reopen the record for the general rate case in light of the fraud investigation. It recommended that the commission set rates subject to refund, but there has been no action to date. ?It?s way too early for the ORA to analyze whether that amount of refund will be adequate and fit the facts,? Bob Cagen, ORA attorney, said this week. The advocacy group pointed to anonymous letters by one or more Edison employees the utility turned over last year, asserting that both managers and employees were ?gaming? customer satisfaction data. Edison has determined that the misconduct involved its planning group, which has 300 workers, according to Gil Alexander, utility spokesperson. He did not specify how many staffers from this group falsified data. This division designs new service installations for customers, such as new meters for homeowners. The utility said it will file a written report on its investigation by June 25, but it may not disclose names of those involved in the scandal. The commission has not set a time frame to respond to Edison?s offer, according to Terrie Prosper, CPUC spokesperson. It will weigh in when the utility?s investigation is complete.

Over 11K Stories!

| Independently Powered Energy News

Edison Wants to Clear the Board on Fraud

vdharadmin

Related Posts

Op-Ed: Before and After Net Energy Metering 3, A Thought Experiment

Auld Lang Zine

CPUC Chops Solar Rooftop Payments & Adds Battery Incentives, Few are Happy

Consumer Groups Pressure Governor to Force Reworked Sempra Deal