Southern California Edison Co

Southern California Edison Co. said Robert G. Foster, who might run for mayor of Long Beach, would resign as president Sept. 30 and would retire Dec. 31.

Customers of Southern California Edison and California's other big investor-owned utilities won't see a refund on their bills from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power -- but they'll be getting $113 million in relief just the same. The DWP was accused by the three big utilities and state agencies of overcharging for electricity during the energy crisis that hit California and other Western states in 2000 and 2001. The L.A. utility, however, wasn't paid, as complaints worked their way through the regulatory and legal process.

Southern California Edison got the green light Thursday to build the final segments of a nearly $2-billion transmission line that will connect customers with renewable energy produced by windmills. The California Public Utilities Commission approved the construction of the last 173 miles of Edison's 250-mile Tehachapi transmission project in Kern County. The line will be able to transmit as much as 4,500 megawatts of electricity produced from wind, enough power for nearly 3 million homes.

Edison Prevails in Antitrust Case: A federal judge tentatively ruled in favor of Southern California Edison Co. in a 12-year-old antitrust lawsuit filed by five cities that purchase power from the utility and resell it to their customers. U.S. District Court Judge Mariana Pfaelzer cleared Edison of antitrust allegations in a $300-million lawsuit filed in 1978 by Anaheim, Riverside, Banning, Colton and Azusa, Edison said.

Edison Freezes All Non-Union Wages for 1995: In an attempt to cut costs, Southern California Edison Co. told employees in a letter from Chairman and Chief Executive John E. Bryson that non-union wages for clerical employees will be frozen through next year. The move affects about 9,600 of Edison's 17,800 workers. Also announced was an incentive program designed to give bonuses to the same group, ranging from 5% to 15% if performance goals are met.

Southern California Edison Co., Rosemead, named H. Frederick Christie president and chief executive of its Mission Group of non-utility subsidiaries. Christie, 53, will resign from his current positions as president and a director of Edison, effective Sept. 1.

The noisy dispute in Cerritos has become a humdinger. John Davis contends that a new electrical transformer behind his home of 33 years produces a constant humming sound that resonates through his house and keeps family members awake at night. But he says complaints to Southern California Edison about the problem have produced a corporate ho-hum. The transformer is enclosed in a 4-foot-wide metal box in the southeast corner of Davis' backyard on an otherwise quiet cul-de-sac called Rusty Fig Circle.

How's this for bad timing? As the economy keeps tanking, and as tens of thousands of people are losing their jobs, state regulators are preparing to vote on a rate hike that could grant Southern California Edison Co. more than $1 billion in additional ratepayer cash over the next three years. A vote had been scheduled for Thursday.

Southern California Edison on Monday unveiled its newest power plant: 33,700 solar panels atop a warehouse in Fontana that will feed green energy directly into the grid. It's the first piece of what the utility says could become the largest rooftop solar installation in the world, a swath of photovoltaic panels spanning two square miles. The 600,000-square-foot warehouse rooftop, owned by logistics firm ProLogis Inc.

The state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday levied a $30-million fine -- its largest ever -- against Southern California Edison and ordered the utility to refund more than $81 million to customers, concluding that a seven-year fraud caused substantial harm to consumers and could have diminished worker safety. Although the fine is a record for the PUC, it is $10 million less than what was ordered in late 2007 by a commission judge.

Despite the launch of its third special inspection in a year at Southern California Edison Co.'s San Onofre nuclear plant, federal regulators Thursday night assured the public that the coastal power plant is safe. About 100 residents and officials from nearby communities came to hear the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's annual report on the plant, located near San Clemente.

Regulators are launching a special inspection at Southern California Edison's San Onofre nuclear plant to make sure the utility fixed electrical problems with crucial backup power systems, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday. The visit next week by a three-person team marks the third special inspection in the last 12 months for the coastal facility near San Clemente.

The more than 16% rate hike requested by Southern California Edison for next year has triggered plenty of opposition from, among others, sign-toting Los Angeles customers who crowded into a room to tell the utility that they can't afford it. With gasoline and food costing more, few want to spend extra for electricity even if the money would help prevent blackouts.

Southern California Edison deserves a 3.6% rate increase in 2009 instead of the 20% hike that the utility has requested, according to the consumer advocacy arm of the state Public Utilities Commission. In the rate recommendation it filed Tuesday, the commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates slashed Edison's requested rate increase to $156 million above 2008 levels -- an increase of less then 50 cents a month for the average residential customer. The electric utility proposed collecting $5.