March 14, 2001
Southern California Edison (SCE) released the following statement in response to today's decision by the federal court of Nevada granting New York-based Caithness Energy an attachment lien securing payments allegedly owed by SCE to two Caithness geothermal plants in northern Nevada that supply electricity to California. SCE has suspended payments temporarily to these and other "qualifying facilities" (QFs) due to its current financial condition.
ROSEMEAD, Calif., March 14, 2001-SCE expressed disappointment with today's decision by Senior U.S. District Judge Lloyd George attaching a lien against a utility asset-SCE's 56% interest in the Mohave Generating Station-for unpaid obligations to two "qualifying-facilities" generators. We will immediately seek a stay and appeal today's order because SCE believes the order fails to properly apply applicable law and is unfair to other creditors.
We have maintained open communications with our QF creditors during this difficult period, assuring them of our intent to pay our obligations when the current financial crisis is resolved. We continue to work with the governor, California Legislature, and other policymakers to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible and enable us to gain the means to do so.
SCE appreciates the patience of our investors and creditors whose continued forbearance is an important part of reaching a comprehensive solution to the current crisis.
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An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation's largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 11 million via 4.3 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California.
