state senate oks bailing out edison from bankruptcy assembly plans own version for utility
fyi . fairly accurate account of the activities in california . assembly released new version of hertzberg ' s bill late last night . another update to follow shortly .
best ,
jeff
state senate oks bailing out edison from bankruptcy
assembly plans own version for utility
lynda gledhill and robert salladay , chronicle sacramento bureau
saturday , july 21 , 2001
? 2001 san francisco chronicle
url : http : / / www . sfgate . com / cgi - bin / article . cgi ? f = / c / a / 2001 / 07 / 21 / mnl 33267 . dtl
sacramento - - the state senate approved a plan yesterday to keep southern california edison from falling into bankruptcy , but the bill crafted as an alternative to the pact between the utility and gov . gray davis faces an uncertain future .
the bill by democratic sens . richard polanco of los angeles and byron sher of palo alto would give the state a five - year option to buy the utility ' s transmission lines and would have the state guarantee no more than $ 2 . 5 billion of the utility ' s debt . edison amassed an estimated $ 3 . 5 billion in debt as wholesale electricity prices increased but retail rates remained frozen .
the assembly was also attempting to craft its own version of a deal last night , but political maneuvering and fears of repeating the same kind of mistakes that led to california ' s botched 1996 deregulation legislation haunted lawmakers .
davis continued to apply pressure on lawmakers to put a bill on his desk before aug . 15 , a date set in the original agreement between davis and edison .
lawmakers were scheduled to start their monthlong summer recess last night , but failure to pass the state budget meant no one was leaving town .
" it ' s a firm deadline , which means this issue has to be fully resolved prior to the end of the legislative recess , " davis said of the aug . 15 date .
davis suggested that a conference committee or working group could be used to iron out differences between the two bills , but it is unclear whether that could be accomplished in the next few days .
" i have problems with both bills , " davis said . " i am heartened by the fact that there ' s a bill moving in each house . "
both houses struggled to garner enough votes to get their respective bills to a floor vote , and many lawmakers indicated that they were not happy with the process .
in the senate , 22 democrats voted for the edison plan , while four democrats and all 13 republicans voted no .
sen . jackie speier , d - hillsborough , said she would vote for the bill in its current form , but not if any substantial changes are made .
" the legislature is ill - equipped to try to craft a deal , " she said . " this particular measure - - and only this one - - has the intent and clarity to protect ratepayers . i ' m leery of the bill going to the assembly and being cannibalized . "
the senate bill authorizes edison to issue $ 2 . 5 billion in bonds to pay off alternative energy producers and their banks . the bonds would be paid off through increased rates charged edison ' s largest customers and would not cover the $ 1 billion edison owes out - of - state generators .
edison maintains that the senate bill will not make the company creditworthy , which would put it back in the position of buying power .
the state has been spending upward of $ 50 million a day on power since january , and davis and lawmakers want the rescue plan in place so that the utility can once again begin buying power . there is also hope that any deal would be used as a way to get pacific gas & electric co . out of bankruptcy .
in the assembly , two competing measures put pressure on leaders to change their bill . the rescue plan by assembly speaker robert hertzberg of sherman oaks and assemblyman fred keeley , d - boulder creek , was undergoing changes to garner more support .
some of the changes included eliminating the purchase of transmission lines and taking municipal utilities out of the deal .
assemblywoman elaine alquist , d - san jose , one of the undecided members on the edison agreement , said the original bill was too complex .
" it ' s a cleaner bill , " alquist said . " i think it comes down to whether this does not affect our constituents and there is not a link to pg & e . i would say i ' m tentatively satisfied . "
alquist and other democrats said they were concerned about the rushed nature of the edison negotiations . only a few members of the assembly - - all former state senators now in the lower house - - voted to approve the 1996 legislation , abl 890 , that brought deregulation to california .
assemblyman joseph simitian , d - palo alto , said he gave a courtesy vote to the hertzberg - keeley plan in the appropriations committee , in order to get the measure to the assembly floor and continue debate .
" as we ' ve learned from the experience of abl 890 , the devil is in the details . i have a lot of questions , " simitian said . " the difficulty is that very little gets done here until there is a deadline , and then once there is a deadline , too much gets done . "
hertzberg acknowledged that some assembly members were afraid the bill was getting rushed , but he said lawmakers are well - informed about the energy crisis and its details . he said they have had 200 hours of caucus meetings and countless hearings on the crisis .
a wild card in the assembly ' s plan was a bill by assemblyman rod wright , d - los angeles , that garnered republican support . the so - called " straight bailout " would give edison its $ 3 . 5 billion through a $ 2 - a - month fee levied on utility ratepayers . it was stuck in the assembly appropriations committee .
e - mail the reporters at lgledhill @ sfchronicle . com and rsalladay @ sfchronicle . com .
? 2001 san francisco chronicle page a - 3
state senate oks bailing out edison from bankruptcy assembly plans
own version for utility
fyi . fairly accurate account of the activities in california . assembly released new version of hertzberg ' s bill late last night . another update to follow shortly .
best ,
jeff
state senate oks bailing out edison from bankruptcy
assembly plans own version for utility
lynda gledhill and robert salladay , chronicle sacramento bureau
saturday , july 21 , 2001
? 2001 san francisco chronicle
url : http : / / www . sfgate . com / cgi - bin / article . cgi ? f = / c / a / 2001 / 07 / 21 / mnl 33267 . dtl
sacramento - - the state senate approved a plan yesterday to keep southern california edison from falling into bankruptcy , but the bill crafted as an alternative to the pact between the utility and gov . gray davis faces an uncertain future .
the bill by democratic sens . richard polanco of los angeles and byron sher of palo alto would give the state a five - year option to buy the utility ' s transmission lines and would have the state guarantee no more than $ 2 . 5 billion of the utility ' s debt . edison amassed an estimated $ 3 . 5 billion in debt as wholesale electricity prices increased but retail rates remained frozen .
the assembly was also attempting to craft its own version of a deal last night , but political maneuvering and fears of repeating the same kind of mistakes that led to california ' s botched 1996 deregulation legislation haunted lawmakers .
davis continued to apply pressure on lawmakers to put a bill on his desk before aug . 15 , a date set in the original agreement between davis and edison .
lawmakers were scheduled to start their monthlong summer recess last night , but failure to pass the state budget meant no one was leaving town .
" it ' s a firm deadline , which means this issue has to be fully resolved prior to the end of the legislative recess , " davis said of the aug . 15 date .
davis suggested that a conference committee or working group could be used to iron out differences between the two bills , but it is unclear whether that could be accomplished in the next few days .
" i have problems with both bills , " davis said . " i am heartened by the fact that there ' s a bill moving in each house . "
both houses struggled to garner enough votes to get their respective bills to a floor vote , and many lawmakers indicated that they were not happy with the process .
in the senate , 22 democrats voted for the edison plan , while four democrats and all 13 republicans voted no .
sen . jackie speier , d - hillsborough , said she would vote for the bill in its current form , but not if any substantial changes are made .
" the legislature is ill - equipped to try to craft a deal , " she said . " this particular measure - - and only this one - - has the intent and clarity to protect ratepayers . i ' m leery of the bill going to the assembly and being cannibalized . "
the senate bill authorizes edison to issue $ 2 . 5 billion in bonds to pay off alternative energy producers and their banks . the bonds would be paid off through increased rates charged edison ' s largest customers and would not cover the $ 1 billion edison owes out - of - state generators .
edison maintains that the senate bill will not make the company creditworthy , which would put it back in the position of buying power .
the state has been spending upward of $ 50 million a day on power since january , and davis and lawmakers want the rescue plan in place so that the utility can once again begin buying power . there is also hope that any deal would be used as a way to get pacific gas & electric co . out of bankruptcy .
in the assembly , two competing measures put pressure on leaders to change their bill . the rescue plan by assembly speaker robert hertzberg of sherman oaks and assemblyman fred keeley , d - boulder creek , was undergoing changes to garner more support .
some of the changes included eliminating the purchase of transmission lines and taking municipal utilities out of the deal .
assemblywoman elaine alquist , d - san jose , one of the undecided members on the edison agreement , said the original bill was too complex .
" it ' s a cleaner bill , " alquist said . " i think it comes down to whether this does not affect our constituents and there is not a link to pg & e . i would say i ' m tentatively satisfied . "
alquist and other democrats said they were concerned about the rushed nature of the edison negotiations . only a few members of the assembly - - all former state senators now in the lower house - - voted to approve the 1996 legislation , abl 890 , that brought deregulation to california .
assemblyman joseph simitian , d - palo alto , said he gave a courtesy vote to the hertzberg - keeley plan in the appropriations committee , in order to get the measure to the assembly floor and continue debate .
" as we ' ve learned from the experience of abl 890 , the devil is in the details . i have a lot of questions , " simitian said . " the difficulty is that very little gets done here until there is a deadline , and then once there is a deadline , too much gets done . "
hertzberg acknowledged that some assembly members were afraid the bill was getting rushed , but he said lawmakers are well - informed about the energy crisis and its details . he said they have had 200 hours of caucus meetings and countless hearings on the crisis .
a wild card in the assembly ' s plan was a bill by assemblyman rod wright , d - los angeles , that garnered republican support . the so - called " straight bailout " would give edison its $ 3 . 5 billion through a $ 2 - a - month fee levied on utility ratepayers . it was stuck in the assembly appropriations committee .
e - mail the reporters at lgledhill @ sfchronicle . com and rsalladay @ sfchronicle . com .
? 2001 san francisco chronicle page a - 3