SACRAMENTO — An arbitration panel has ruled that Sempra Energy must pay more than $70 million in damages to the state for overcharges on electricity deliveries and other violations of a 2001 contract signed at the end of the energy crisis, the California Department of Water Resources said Friday.
The panel of retired judges found that San Diego-based Sempra, parent of Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., included improper charges in invoices for electricity sold to the state as part of the $6.6-billion, 10-year contract. The company also failed to follow through on commitments to deliver energy and sent power to parts of the California electricity grid that the utility knew were too congested for timely deliveries to consumers, the department said.
