PAYMENT SOUGHT FROM UTILITIES 3 AREA CITIES HIRE LAW FIRM TO COLLECT MILLIONS.Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena have retained an international law firm in an effort to recoup millions of dollars due them from selling power to the state electricity grid. The three cities The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines. hope the firm of Fulbright & Jaworski will be able to collect from bankrupt Pacific Gas & Electric and the financially troubled Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. . Glendale and Burbank each puts their loss at $6 million, while Pasadena's loss stands at $23 million, officials say. `'We are hoping that by banding together we can not only maximize clout, but reduce expenses,'' said Terry Stevenson, senior assistant city attorney for Burbank, which is paying three Fulbright & Jaworski attorneys $310 to $345 an hour. Glendale officials refused to say how much they are paying Fulbright & Jaworski, one of the largest law firms in the country with offices in Los Angeles and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to London and Hong Kong. Pasadena's City Attorney's Office did not return phone calls, and Fulbright & Jaworski declined comment. The three cities have not yet filed claims in court for the money because they are waiting for the Independent System Operator, overseer of California's power grid, to release information on who ultimately bought the surplus electricity generated by their power plants. ``We are still trying to work with the ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. on who to file our claims against, if it is PG&E or Southern California Edison,'' said Steven Lins, assistant city attorney for Glendale. ISO officials have taken the position that power generators should go directly after PG&E and Edison to collect their money, Stevenson said. ``Both the Power Exchange and the ISO say that they don't owe anybody anything, that they are pass-throughs,'' he said. Under deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. arrangements, the ISO pays power generators after it receives payments from utility companies. PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 6, citing its own spiraling energy costs. In court documents, PG&E lists assets of $24 billion and debts of $18.4 billion. One of the biggest unsecured claims against the utility is from the ISO - some $1.1 billion. An unsecured claim is not backed by assets owned by the debtor, and is paid only after secured claims are fulfilled. In documents posted on its Web site related to its bankruptcy proceedings bankruptcy proceedings n. the bankruptcy procedure is: a) filing a petition (voluntary or involuntary) to declare a debtor person or business bankrupt, or, under Chapter 11 or 13, to allow reorganization or refinancing under a plan to meet the debts of the party , PG&E assures creditors that it will pay all valid claims under a reorganization plan A scheme authorized by federal law and promulgated by the president whereby he or she alters the structure of federal agencies to promote government efficiency and economy through a transfer, consolidation, coordination, authorization, or abolition of functions. to be approved by the court. The dispute between the cities and utility companies is one of many financial disputes arising from the energy crisis. Power producers in California have been ordered to sit down this week with state officials, who claim that residents have been bilked of as much as $9 billion in illegal overcharges. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates. last week directed a settlement conference to resolve the various financial disputes. FERC FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FERC FEMA Emergency Response Capability called the meeting as part of its order imposing caps on western electricity prices. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion