SAN DIEGO, June 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- A local coalition of business, labor and community leaders hailed today's decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to reduce proposed charges for state energy contracts to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers by an estimated $368 million.
Today's decision reduces almost by half the amount of additional costs to be covered by SDG&E customers under the energy contracts. Originally, the CPUC voted to allocate $790 million in additional costs to SDG&E customers over the life of the contracts. Today's ruling reduces that amount to $422 million.
Efforts to change the CPUC's earlier decision received widespread support from a coalition of community and political leaders, as well as from hundreds of customers and governments served by SDG&E.
"When San Diegans stand united, we can make a significant, positive impact on issues that face us," said Edwin A. Guiles, chairman and chief executive officer of SDG&E. "The coalition's vigorous opposition will save customers about $368 million. We couldn't have done it without you."
Key members of the coalition included the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the City of San Diego, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), dozens of cities in the area served by SDG&E, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.
"Working families are the real winners in this decision," said Jerry Butkiewicz, secretary of the San Diego-Imperial County Labor Council. "The CPUC should be commended for making sure that San Diegans pay their fair share and not a penny more."
The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce also praised the decision. "This is a tremendous victory for the San Diego region," said Mitch Mitchell, vice president of public policy and communications of the chamber. "It proves the process can work, and we should never give up. We applaud the CPUC for doing the right thing for all San Diego consumers."
During the California energy crisis, the state Department of Water Resources entered into long-term contracts to ensure that customers of cash-strapped utilities would continue to receive power. In December 2004, the CPUC approved a controversial methodology that the San Diego coalition argued would have placed an unfair burden on SDG&E customers. SDG&E filed a request for a rehearing, based on several significant procedural issues, which led to today's revised decision.
SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.2 million consumers through 1.3 million electric meters and more than 800,000 natural gas meters. The company's service territory encompasses 4,100 square miles in San Diego and southern Orange counties. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. To learn more, go to www.sdge.com.