The state’s Public Utilities Commission is in the initial stages of what could be a two-year investigation that will either cost or save ratepayers a lot of money.
The San Onofre nuclear power plant has been offline for a year, due to faulty steam generators, but ratepayers are still paying more than $50 million a month for the non existent power. The CPUC is considering whether ratepayers should be reimbursed.
State Attorney General Kamala Harris has stepped into the fray. Lynda Gledhill of Harris’ office said the AG has not taken a position on the issue.
“We have filed to become a party in the investigation” Gledhill said,“ and we want to monitor going forward, to make sure everything happens in the public’s best interest. “
Under California law, ratepayers should not be charged for a power source that is offline for more than nine months. But the operator, Southern California Edison, argues rates should not be changed until the next general rate change in 2015.
In 2011, Harris called for tougher fines in a CPUC case involving Pacific Gas and Electric, after a gas line explosion in San Bruno.