The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About06-City Administrator city of San Bernardino INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM 9002-2037 TO: Marshall Julian, City Administrator FROM: W. R. "Bob" Holcomb, Mayor SUBJECT: Merger of Southern California Edison and San Diego gas & Electric Company DATE: February 20, 1990 COPIES: Debi Nadeau, Administrative Assistant ------------------------------------------------------------- Attached is a letter from Audrie Krause, Executive Director of TURN, and my response to her, regarding the above captioned matter. Please review March 5, 1990 letters and have this matter slated for the a, as the first Discussion item. Mayor WRH:cms Attachment 1.":::". '..1"", '~.'I _.~ .....~ ..." -,.., ci:i r'l c-;. Ci ,- ;..~,' C:l """,.1 C) -, , ~ '" .. TURN Toward Utility Rate Normalization 625 Polk Street, Suite 403 San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 929-8876 FAX: (415) 929-1132 fED 05. Audrie Krause Executive Director February 1. 1990 Mayor Robert Holcolm San Bernardino City Hall 300 N. D Street San Bernardino, CA. 92418 Dear Mayor Holcolm, You may recall that Sylvia Siegel spoke with you by telephone shortly before her retirement and asked if the municipalities would help support TURN's work against the proposed merger of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. I recently hired a full time organizer to build grass roots opposition to the merger among Edison's residential customers in Southern California. As you advised Sylvia, I'm writing to ask that TURN's request for support be included on the City Council's agenda so that I may come and address the Council. Taking on Edison is a tough job, so I'm hoping that TURN can work closely with the municipalities and other parties to make certain that all of the important issues at stake in this decision are fully aired in public. As an important first step, TURN will be asking its members to attend public hearings in Southern California that the California Public Utilities Commission has scheduled for mid-April. Since the merger would have significant competitive consequences for electric transmission, I know the municipalities have some concerns, and I think we can agree that its important that all interests be represented at the pUblic hearings since Edison is certain to bring a busload of their stockholders to each hearing. I plan to send a special mailing to TURN members in Southern California to ask them to attend a hearing, and TURN would be pleased to work with existing organizations in San Bernardino and other Southern California communities to insure that residential customers from as many areas as possible attend the pUblic hearings. As a consumer group, TURN's primary concern is the impact that the merger will have on residential electric rates, which have already increased BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Joseph P. Lacey, President, San Francisco Housing and Tenant's Council, Judith Bell, Vice President, Consumers Union, Peter Stern, Secretary, Alice Gates, Esq., Treasurer, Treesa Drury, John L Geesman, Esq., Jeffrey Greendorfer, Marie Jobling, Old Saint Mary's Housing, Joseph L Landry, New Bayvlew Committee, Richard Liebes, Ray Perry, International Association of Machinists, Sylvia M. Siegel, Evelyn Stein, Leonard Wehrman, Goldan State Mob/lehome Owners League. Amy Weltz Founded In 1973 by Sylvia M. Siegel TURN is a nonprofit. tax exempt consumer organization; contributions are tax deductible. ,. . , Mayor Holculm February 1, 1990 Page 2 almost 29 percent in a little over two years. Edison's promise to lower rates in San Diego by 10 percent means it's very likely that Southern California customers will be hit with higher bills to subsidize the rate reduction that Edison has promised in San Diego. Other important issues we plan to raise are the economic hardships that will result from large scale layoffs, Edison's history of self-dealing with Mission Energy, and the likelihood that the merger will result in increased air pollution in Southern California. These are issues that concern a broad cross spectrum of concerned citizens, including residential and small business customers, environmentalists and organized labor. As you may know, TURN is the only statewide consumer group working to represent the interests of residential customers in utility rate cases before the California Public Utilities Commission. TURN has worked closely with other consumer groups, conservationists, and labor unions since it was founded 16 years ago, About one-third of TURN's members are in Southern California, We plan to work closely with the major senior organizations, active and retired labor union members and environmentalists in fighting the proposed merger. I believe TURN and the municipalities have a strong mutual interest in educating the public about important issues related to the Edison merger, and I'd be pleased to attend a City Council meeting to answer any questions you may have about this request or talk about the specific ways in which we can work together. I'll be fOllowing up this Jetter with a phone call, but please don! hesitate to call me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Q(.tcl~_ J.G~ Audrie Krause Executive Director ,. J CITY OF San &rnardino OFFICE OF THE MAYOR W R. "SOS" HOLCOMS MAYOR February 20, 1990 Ms. Audrie Krause Executive Director, TURN 625 Polk Street, Suite 403 San Francisco, CA 94102 Dear Ms. Krause: In response to your letter of February 1, 1990, regarding TURN's work against the proposed merger of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and your desire to address our City Council, I would suqqest that you arrange to be in San Bernardino for our regular Council Meetinq on March 5, 1990. I would like to discuss this with you and request you come to my office at 9:00 a.m. on the morning of March 5th. Our Council Meetings begin appear before the Council segment of the meeting. I the first item. at 9:30 a.m. and the best would be at the Public have requested that this time to Comments matter be All of our Council Meetings are televised live on the local access channel channel, and rebroadcast twice throuqhout the week, so you should have a pretty good audience to explain what the merger is all about. I look forward to seeing you on Monday, March 5, 1990, 9:00 a.m. Mayor WRH:gb cc: Marshall JUlian, City Administrator 300 NORTH '0' STREET ".&II~nANI.& Q~,a,".nnnl SAN eERNAROINO. '7 t .. J t; . .. . . 1 .t .!. '-." ...:= -I ~,' --'~-~.,-~,.. '~::'/i'=~ ' .~/r