September 24, 2002
ROSEMEAD, Calif., Sept. 24, 2002 —At a news conference today during which Governor Davis’ office announced the signing of AB 57 (Wright D-Los Angeles), Southern California Edison (SCE) President Bob Foster stated that he expects the bill to contribute significantly to restoring stability to California’s electricity industry.
“We believe AB 57 represents a major step toward improving investor confidence in California’s regulatory system and ultimately returning the state’s utilities to investment-grade standing,” Foster said. “This key legislation provides an essential element to enable the utilities to resume procurement.”
The measure directs the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish up-front utility power procurement and cost-recovery guidelines designed to prevent the recurrence of the financial crisis encountered recently by California’s electric utilities.
In addition, AB 57 mandates that utilities be given long-term contracting authority that will minimize the risks posed by the spot electricity market, an expedited review process regarding the terms of such contracts, trigger mechanisms that ensure the timely recovery of procurement costs, and an approach to renewable energy that balances benefits with customer costs.
# # #
An Edison International company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of more than 12 million via 4.3 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within central, coastal and Southern California. For more information on the California electricity market, see www.sce.com.
