There are a lot of ways for electricity bills to run high in a place like southern California. With high temperatures year round and blistering summers, almost every home features at least some kind of air conditioning. Many homes also have pools that must be filtered. This only adds on top of all the televisions, computers and countless other consumer electronics that ring up the kilowatt-hours each month. Sam Spagnolo of Rancho Cucamonga, east of Los Angeles, paid for all of these with the added expense of having grandchildren who were all to happy to make use of them.

"My electric bills were averaging over $400 per month," Sam explained to California solar installer HelioPower when he first visited them about the possibility of adding a rooftop solar installation.

Four hundred dollars per month is fairly high for California, where the average bill was $82.85 per month in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but this includes the entire state, even the far cooler climes in the north. By comparison, nearby Arizona paid an average of $116.09 per month, despite seeing average electricity rates more than 25 percent lower. At California's excessive electricity prices, the sunny state could have been paying monthly bills of more than $156 on average.

Indeed, the state as a whole saw the second-lowest average monthly electricity usage in the entire country at 562 kilowatt-hours, behind only Maine. Tennessee, the state with the highest monthly usage in the country, would have faced average electricity bills of more than $205 per month at California's rates, though much of this disparity can be attributed to California's efforts at energy efficiency.

Nevertheless, the National Weather Service illustrates how much warmer it can get in the southern reaches of the state. Meanwhile, the state's tenth-highest residential electricity rates make clear how much of an impact this difference could have on residents bills.

After a long talk with a representative from HelioPower, Sam was certainly interested in the potential savings a residential solar installation could offer him under these circumstances. But at the end of the day, he decided he simply could not afford it.

"Quite frankly, although I could clearly see the returns, I wasn’t ready to make that big a commitment by buying a system," Sam told them.

That problem quickly solved itself, however, when California-based SunRun struck an agreement to work with HelioPower. SunRun's residential solar financing program offers homeowners the opportunity to add a solar installation and to cut down on their electricity bills simply by paying a fixed monthly bill or fixed rate for the electricity produced by the system.

Solar power purchase agreements arrangements can generally be made with little money down, and sometimes none at all. In Sam's case it cost only $1,000 and work started on his roof within only a few weeks of having HelioPower put through paperwork for the various permits and federal and state solar incentives.

Now, a 33-panel photovoltaic solar installation sits on the back roof of Sam's house. At 230 watts each, the solar panels combine for a peak

Solar in Rancho Cucamonga at Sam Spagnola's residence

capacity of 7.59 kilowatts and can produce more than 11,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's PVWATT Calculator. That represents more than one-and-a-half times the average Californian's annual energy needs. At California's average electricity price of 14.74 cents per kilowatt-hour, that amounts to more than $1,600 per year. Between a good first month that saw Sam's solar system produce enough to give him a $300 credit from his electricity company and a $500 rebate from the City of Rancho Cucamonga, it took only two months for Sam to earn back the $1,000 he paid in up-front costs, and he only expects to save more over the years.

NC Times announced today that "Homeowners with solar power may have to dig a little deeper to pay off their green investment if regulators approve San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s request to change the way electricity is billed.

Under its proposal, SDG&E would unbundle the charges for electricity and for transporting electricity."

"They are trying to mitigate, in their mind, the so-called cost subsidy issue," said Leeweigh Tan, a regulatory analyst for the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, an independent arm of the commission. "Sometimes utilities get enthusiastic about addressing a certain issue and they blow it out of proportion. We want to make sure the data supports their claim."

Indeed, all of the advocates reached for this article wondered how SDG&E generated those figures for the subsidy. The complete filing is likely to address that question.

"SDG&E ignores all the benefits of solar and only looks at the costs," said Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, an advocacy nonprofit.

Because the new charge would extend the return on investment for solar, it would make explaining solar to potential installation customers more difficult. It would probably depress what has been a growing market, said Scott Gordon, an SDG&E residential solar customer and vice president for sales for Murrieta solar installer HelioPower.

"That is frightening," Gordon said.

Have questions about the new meter installed on your home?  Do you wonder how it works?  Will it record energy use differently than the “old” version?   Will the new smart meter change your energy bill?

HelioPower's Scott Gordon answers all your questions in this new video, "How to Read Your New Smart Meter."

“While most homeowners are familiar with the installation of smart meters on their homes, many are seeking more information about the smart meters’ impact on their electric bills,” said Scott Gordon, Vice President, Residential Sales for HelioPower.  “We will cover the the things homeowners need to know about smart meters including how to read the meter and how the new digital meters record energy use."

By HelioPower

Millions of smart meters are being installed on homes across California.  Mandated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), all investor owned utilities (IOU) including Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) are installing smart meters at residential and business customer properties.  Smart meters are the residential point of information collection for the smart grid. They will connect your home to smart grid in much the same way a cable or DSL modem connects your home to the internet.

While most homeowners are familiar with the installation of smart meters on their homes, many are seeking more information about the smart meters’ impact on their electric bills and their ability to lower or control their electricity costs with solar in this new “smart grid” enabled world.

1. Definition of a smart meter
Smart meters are digital devices that record the amount of energy you use in your home and send this information to the utility company.  Smart meters are the digital replacements of their predecessors, the old electro-mechanical analog meter.  They have a digital display and are about the same size as the old analog electricity meter.

The new electric meters provide two-way communication between your home and the utility. These new meters use secure wireless network technology or powerline technology to communicate your usage data to the local utility. The utility uses the information from the smart meter to calculate your energy use and your monthly electric bill.

2. Why the utilities are installing smart meters
Utility companies around the world are installing smart electric meters for many reasons.  Those include efficiencies related to remote meter reading, fixing service disruptions remotely, and as a first step in the rollout of smart grid technologies in their service areas.  One of the critical factors driving smart meter technology is the need to match electricity consumption with the real time demands on the grid. Utilities are increasingly challenged during high usage times such as hot summer afternoons when air conditioning loads can place tremendous stress on the grid. The smart grid promises to aid utilities in their ability to balance grid demand in their service areas in real time.

Traditional analog meters track total consumption.  Smart meters allow the utilities to track when electricity is used in a household and thus match the time the energy is being consumed with amount of electricity consumed. Utility customers will be encouraged to shift their energy consumption to ‘off peak’ hours during times of high demand through a combination of lower electricity rates and higher baseline allowances.

3. Who will receive smart meters in California
By 2012, every electricity consumer of the big three IOUs will have smart meters. Source CPUC April 2009.

4. How the CPUC envisions smart meters will reduce energy use
Smart meters track electric use in fifteen minute increments.  The goal is to help consumers understand their electrical and gas usage so they can make decisions to reduce and control energy costs. Additionally, by linking electricity costs to grid demand, the hope is that users will shift consumption to ‘off peak’ times thereby helping to avoid brown and black outs during hot summer months and other high demand times.

From the CPUC website: The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has authorized the state’s investor owned utilities to replace conventional customer meters with smart meters in order to give consumers greater control over their energy use.  Smart meters enable a utility to provide customers with detailed information about their energy usage at different times of the day, which in turn enables customers to manage their energy use more proactively.

The benefits of smart meters to customers, the state, and utilities, include:

• Allows for faster outage detection and restoration of service by a utility when an outage occurs and therefore, less disruption to a customer’s home or business.
• Provides customers with greater control over their electricity use when coupled with time-based rates, increasing the range of different pricing plans available to customers and giving them more choice in managing their electricity consumption and bills.
  • Smart meters enable a utility to measure a customer’s electricity usage in hourly increments.
  • If a customer elects to participate in time-based rates offered by the utility, they have the opportunity to lower their electricity demand during “peak” periods (the peak period for most utilities are summer afternoons) and potentially save money on their monthly electric bill.
• Allows customers to make informed decisions by providing highly detailed information about electricity usage and costs.
• Helps the environment by reducing the need to build power plants, or avoiding the use of older, less efficient power plants as customers lower their electric demand.
• Increases privacy because electricity usage information can be relayed automatically to the utility for billing purposes without on-site visits by a utility to check the meter.
• Smart meters are the first step toward creating a smart grid in California.

5. Smart meter online utility resources
The utilities have a wealth of information and in many cases, easy to watch videos, online:

• San Diego Gas & Electric, “Smart Meter”:  http://www.sdge.com/smartmeter/
• Southern California Edison, “SmartConnect”: http://www.sce.com/CustomerService/smartconnect/default.htm
• Pacific Gas & Electric, “SmartMeter Technology”: http://www.pge.com/myhome/customerservice/smartmeter/

6. How a smart meter works
A smart meter tracks your home’s hourly use of electricity and/or natural gas in fifteen minute increments.  The smart meter then sends the data to your utility.

7. How you can measure your power consumption with a smart meter
Your new electric meter records your kilowatt hour usage to date. Utility customers with smart meters can access their energy usage through their account information on line and by reading their meter on site. On average the smart meters automatically scroll through different displays.  Each display remains on screen for three to five seconds.  The screens and the amount of time vary slightly depending on whether you are in SCE, SDG&E or PG&E territory.

Generally the screens read out your kilowatt hour usage to date. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is 1,000 watts of electricity used for one hour.

San Diego Gas & Electric: Smart meter scrolls through several different displays that will show your kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage, date, time, and other system and diagnostic information.

Southern California Edison:   The smart meter cycles through three different screens. The first screen displays electricity usage. The other two screens are for the use of the utility.

Pacific Gas & Electric: There are two different types of meters in use in the PG&E territory.  Information for how to identify which type of meter you have and the information displayed can be found online here.

8. How a smart meter affects your energy bill
The impact of the new smart meter on your electric bill will vary.  Homes with older analog meters will see the highest potential increase in electric rates.  The mechanical analog version can slow down over time as the bearings and other mechanics wear out.  Analog meters can become increasingly inaccurate as the mechanism becomes older.  When the new, digital version replaces the old analog meter then your electrical use is more accurately captured and billed. This sometimes results in increased electricity costs for some homeowners.

The electric smart meter records and communicates hourly use of electricity. This capability allows the utilities to bill customers in new ways. One way is called time of use or TOU.  Commercial companies are billed with time of use fees.  This fee structure matches the use of electricity with the time it is used.  Electricity used during the highest demand periods of the day are billed at the highest rates. Time of Use rate plans are now optional for most Californians. Contact your utility or visit their website(s) for further details concerning TOU in your area.

Who pays for the smart meter installations?

Information from SCE: Edison SmartConnect is a $1.6 billion program authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission. Edison SmartConnect is expected to contribute an approximate 1.6 percent increase in customer rates during the installation timeframe. This slight increase, expected to take effect this year, will not be applied as a line item to customer bills. Rather it will be incorporated in the overall electricity rate. Customers can more than offset this cost by actively participating in new smart meter programs and services designed to help save energy and money.

Information from SDG&E: Just like the current meters, the cost is part of the overall bill. The cost for smart meters, as with all meters or equipment purchased by SDG&E, is part of regular business expenses and is recovered in rates.

At its peak, the cost is approximately $2.50 per month. However, there is not a separate line item for smart meters on the SDG&E bill, and this cost will diminish over time.

9. Smart meters and solar
In most utility regions, smart meters now also record the energy production of your residential solar power system.  For example, according to its website, smart meter installations for San Diego Gas & Electric customers with solar/net energy metering systems began in November 2010.

10. Solar becomes “an even more valuable” strategy to offset energy consumption in a smart meter world
Three factors are increasing solar’s ability to offset energy costs in a smart meter world.  First the cost of solar is at an all-time low.   Second, financing options are increasing thus reducing the cost of entry for solar generated electricity to zero.  And third, as residential rate structures more to time of use via smart meter technology the trend of increasing energy costs is expected to continue to rise.

Since residential solar systems produce the most electricity during ‘peak’ usage times (generally hot summer months), customers with solar energy systems are credited for their production at the higher day rates. Those that can shift the bulk of their demand to the evening off-peak times will gain additional benefit as they will book more kilowatt hours (kWh) at the higher day rates while buying needed kilowatt hours at lower off-peak rates. As a result, many of these customers require smaller solar power systems than their counterparts who have installed solar under current tier based rate structures. For more information on this energy hedging strategy, click here for a free site evaluation: http://www.heliopower.com/free-site-evaluation

According to Helen Priest, Director of Emerging Markets, PG&E, quoted here at the Greentech Media Summit, 2011…

“TOU pricing (via smart meters) for residential will be implemented completely by 2014.   You will see a ‘significant shift in consumer pricing’ where solar becomes even more valuable as part of the mix and need from consumers in TOU environment."

By Derek Girling
HelioPower Solar Energy Consultant

Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent or Tea Partier, our sun graciously shines on you almost each and every day. However in this year’s election, the sun has come out and publicly endorsed the green parties – both of them!

Who are these two green parties? Well there’s the Green in Your Wallet Green Party and there’s the Green Planet Green Party. The Green Planet Green Party has always been a favorite of the sun and now the Green in Your Wallet Green Party has got the sun’s vote, too!

Installing solar panels is one of the best things you can do to significantly reduce you and your family’s carbon footprint. Your solar array will eliminate literally tens of thousands of pounds of CO2 over its life. As more and more homes and businesses go solar, less dirty oil and coal-fired generation facilities will be built and brought online.

Even if you believe man-made climate change is a hoax, it is common sense to realize that cutting airborne pollutants is good for our planet. As Judy Bonds of Appalachian Voices and Coal River Mountain Watch says, “breathing clean air and drinking clean water shouldn’t be a luxury, but a birthright!” We owe it to our kids and our kid’s kids to do everything possible to clean up the mess our industrialized society has made and get this clean up going as soon as possible. Solar panels are like a great big broom with which to start sweeping!

The Green in Your Wallet Green Party members are the original solar skeptics. They understand the environmental benefits, but have been waiting for solar to be a sound investment as well. Their wait is over. Early adopters of solar gave the solar industry a great jumpstart and helped drive down costs to the lowest ever. Whether you purchase your solar power system outright or utilize one of the several great residential solar financing options or a power purchase agreement to buy green energy, solar will start showing you a financial returns right away.

So while our political parties may split hairs with each other over who has our best interests at heart, when it comes to which party our sun supports, it’s a landslide for the green parties – both of them!

Contact Derek Girling at DGirling@HelioPower.com.

With the sun setting before 5 p.m., solar power may be the last thing on your mind these days.

But declining panel prices, a federal tax credit and a state rebate all make now a good time to at least investigate whether solar power might make sense for your home — and your budget.

"If you're thinking that you'd like to go solar within the next few years, right now is the time to do it," said Lynn Jurich, president and co-founder of SunRun, a San Francisco-based startup that provides solar financing for consumers who can't afford the upfront costs of buying their own solar systems. "Panels are on sale right now. There's a sweet spot where the state rebates are still relatively high, but the costs have come down."

And winter is a good season to research solar options, experts say. It's generally a slower time for the industry, which means companies may be willing to give you a better deal.

If you're thinking about going solar, here's a checklist of things to think about:

• Take a good, hard look at your electricity usage over the past year or several months. You probably know how much you pay for electricity every month and have records of the checks or bills paid to PG&E or your municipal utility. But do you know how much electricity you actually use? Electricity is charged by the kilowatt-hour (kWh). Some people use as little as 300 kWh per month; others easily use more than 1,200 kWh a month.

In general, solar is a much better investment for people who use a lot of electricity. And PG&E has a tiered rate structure, so customers who use more electricity are charged more.

Understand how you use electricity," said Sue Kateley, executive director of CALSEIA, the California Solar Energy Industries Association. "Get out your bill and look at the tiered rates. If you don't use a lot of electricity — if you are a Tier One or Tier Two customer — then you really need to do a cost analysis to see if solar is cost-effective."

• Take a look at the roof of your house. How old is your roof, and what kind of shape is it in? If your roof is due to be replaced, you'll want to do that before, or along with, adding solar.
• And is your roof ideally situated for solar? Does it face south? "Shading" is also an issue: your roof should have clear, unobstructed access to the sun for most of the day and be free from shade from trees or other buildings.
• Shop around. Ask friends and neighbors who have already installed solar power if they've been happy with their systems. Learn about financing options: Do you have to have the money for the entire system upfront, or does your installer offer a leasing option?

Interview at least three potential installers and obtain bids in writing before making a decision. Whatever the salesperson tells you should be in writing in the contract.

• If you buy electricity from one of California's three investor-owned utilities — PG&E, Southern California Edison or San Diego Gas & Electric — and you have roof or ground space that gets unobstructed sunlight from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. year round, you qualify for cash back incentives through the California Solar Initiative.

The California Solar Initiative (CSI) was started in 2006 to provide $3 billion in incentives for solar energy projects by 2016. Rebates for smaller residential systems are given upfront — a one-time payment based on system size. The current rebate level for PG&E residential customers stands at $1.10 per watt. So if you're putting in a 5 kw system, that results in a $5,500 rebate. But as more people apply for the rebates, the incentives are reduced, and many experts expect them to drop further later this spring.

Customers of municipal utilities may also qualify for incentives through their municipal service provider.

• Be sure to apply for the Solar Federal Tax Credit, which allows you to claim up to 30 percent of the costs for a new system. A buyer who installs a $25,000 solar panel system on his or her roof will get $7,500 in income tax credits.
• Consider your long-term electricity needs, and find out if the solar technology you're interested in allows you to add on more panels over time if necessary. A swimming pool, changes in family size or the use of a plug-in hybrid car could vastly change your energy consumption.

If there were a most commonly asked question contest in the solar business, this question would win hands down: “How long will it take for my solar system to pay for itself?” (Incidentally the second most asked question is: “I have an XXX square foot house, how many solar panels do I need?”).

As you can imagine neither question is particularly easy to answer and both depend on the individual circumstances. If we start with the second question first, the answer is: “The number of panels you require, Mr. Customer, depends upon your 12 month electrical usage history, how your roof is configured, and the type of panels you choose to install.” In other words, without knowing the particulars of a customer’s situation, it’s impossible to answer what on the surface seems like a simple question.

Answering the first question (concerning solar payback) is more complicated because we need to establish a definition of ‘payback’ before we can adequately get to the nuts and bolts answer the customer is seeking.

Then we need to apply customer specific financials to make a final determination. In my experience as both a solar customer and salesman, I believe that there are three ways to think about a solar power system’s payback:

1. ROI – (Return on Investment) – This is what most customers think about. ROI determines how many years of energy savings are required for the solar power system to pay for itself.
2. IRR – (Internal Rate of Return) – Least considered payback methodology, IRR compares a solar ‘investment’ return to other conservative investment returns like interest paid by savings accounts, treasury bills & other bonds, certificates of deposit, etc.
3. Cash Flow – Can financing be obtained that generates positive cash flow for the customer? In other words, will the finance payment be less than the current electric bill? This is truly the Holy Grail.

Using my own solar power system as an example, I’ll address all three of these payback methodologies.

Gordon Residence, solar power in Laguna Beach, CA

1. ROI – My system (installed in February 2007) has an eight year ROI. It will take eight years of energy savings (compounded at 6.7% annually) before my system pays for itself.
2. IRR – That same system provides me with an IRR of 12%. I’m currently paying 4.2% on the money I borrowed to finance the system, so my ‘net return’ is 7.8% (way better than my savings, CDs, or bonds are paying me and certainly better than the 24 month return on my stock portfolio!).

3. Cash Flow – Most importantly, I’ve been cash flow positive from the FIRST MONTH. How? I swapped a $150-200/month electric bill for a $150/month Home Equity payment. Unlike my electric bill, the $150 HELOC payment was entirely tax deductable since it is 100% interest paid toward a qualifying home improvement.
Over the last two years, I’ve paid off a significant portion of the principle (which lowers the monthly payment) and had some luck on the interest rate front. Today, I am $110/month cash flow positive, yet my solar panel system won’t “pay for itself” for another six years!! Funny, because it’s paid me every single month since I installed it in 2007. As you can see, solar payback is truly a matter of perspective.

With the recent removal of the cap on the residential tax credit (Federal), IRR in some utilities is approaching 20%. Warren Buffet became a billionaire by averaging a 20% return over the course of his investing career. Bernie Madoff defrauded investors of billions by promising a 12% return.

A solar power system will provide you with a guaranteed conservative Buffett-like return, without making off with your money in Madoffesque fashion. Your exact return will ultimately be determined by your utility’s rebate level; your appetite for tax credits; and net system price.

If you can achieve positive cash flow with solar, your return from either/and ROI or IRR standpoint become less important. Cash is king, and the more of it you keep every month, the better off you’ll be in the long run. However you decide to calculate the payback on your solar panel system, remember, like any attractive investment, there is a cost to wait. Rebates are ticking down and utility rates keep going up. Every month you delay could cost you hundreds of dollars. Now that’s food for thought.

The intent of the Legislature is that AB 811 should be used to finance the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements that are permanently fixed to residential, commercial, industrial, or other real property.

AB 811 authorizes a property owner, upon written consent of an authorized city official, to purchase directly the related equipment and materials for the installation of distributed generation renewable energy sources or energy efficiency improvements and to contract directly for the installation of those sources or improvements. 

Funding options include using the general fund, issuing municipal bonds, partnering with a utility to get financing or setting up private financing.  

Palm Desert and Berkeley led the legislative charge to put AB 811 in place, and have now enabled hundreds of properties to be outfitted with energy efficiency and renewable energy systems including solar. The “Berkeley First” program was launched Nov. 07. Their pilot program is fully subscribed at $1.5 million.  The Palm Desert Energy Independence program is now in its third round of financing, having installed $7.5 million in energy efficiency and solar photovoltaic systems in their town.  

The Sonoma County Energy Independence program has completed a feasibility study and is planning on offering a $40 million program, which will also include water conservation systems.

San Diego is working on a “Solar Roof Program.” The pilot project will focus on 150 to 300 homes, and 1 technology – solar photovoltaic. Success for the pilot is deemed to be completing the financing cycle, collecting 150-200 loan packages, and aggregating those smaller loans into larger packages that can be sold off on the municipal bond market. Encinitas, Napa and Redlands are all in the exploration phase of AB 811 programs.

Cities like Anaheim and Santa Monica have solar supportive programs already in place.  Santa Monica promotes solar adoption through its Solar Santa Monica program.  Solar installation firms bid for program, and guarantee “group” pricing.  HelioPower is a installer for this program.   

All across California residents and property owners are working with their elected officials to find new and innovative ways to increase the use of sun to power our electricity needs. 

For further information and a review of the legislation, click here. Support AB 811 adoption in your town! 

From Associated Press: "Calif. regulators approve SoCal Edison rate hikes"

ROSEMEAD, Calif.—California regulators have approved a Southern California Edison Co. rate hike that adds $2 to $4 a month to the average residential bill.

Rosemead-based Edison says rate hikes are necessary to upgrade transmission lines and buy equipment.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved the increases Thursday. The hikes go into effect April 4.

PUC president Michael Peevey says it will add $2 to the average monthly residential bill of $85, but consumer groups estimate it's closer to $4. Rates for business firms also increase.

Edison estimates 65 percent of its 4.3 million residential customers would see little or no change in their monthly charges because they participate in special programs for low-income families or consume little power.

From Orange County Register: "Regulators approve $2.1 Billion electric rate hike"

State regulators have approved a rate hike that will give Southern California Edison an extra $2.1 billion in revenue over the next three years.

The hike will raise the average residential bill $2 or so, to $85 a month, officials said.

Some details of the proposal changed on the dais, but regulators granted the utility $106 million for employee incentive pay, and $4.4 million to start re-licensing San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, where licenses expire in 2022.

Thursday morning, the California Public Utilities Commission chose the greater increase of two rate hike proposals before it, on a 4-1 vote. Emerging victorious was a slightly-scaled-down plan penned by commission president – and former Southern California Edison executive – Michael Peevey.

The rejected proposal would have given Southern California Edison a smaller increase – about $1.4 billion over three years. That was not enough.

"I cannot support a decision that would leave California hamstrung," Peevey said. The less-expensive rate hike "would require deferral of vital infrastructure projects and potentially lay off hundreds of workers," he said.

Commissioner Dian Grueneich was the only one to disagree.

"If ever there was a time to leave these dollars in the hands of Southern California Edison's customers, now is the time," said Grueneich.

The smaller increase was robust and prudent, she said. It would have saved ratepayers $765 million over the next three years, while still allowing Southern California Edison to invest in infrastructure.

Grueneich took particular exception to Southern California Edison's claims that the smaller increase would force it to lay off 1,000 workers. "Edison's claim defies logic," she said, suggesting the utility was "crying wolf."

More excerpts:

"Edison is taking advantage of economic concerns to drive through rate hikes that can only add to the pain," TURN executive director Mark Toney said in a prepared statement. "The CPUC did all Edison customers a disservice today."

That sentiment was echoed by the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, the PUC's independent consumer advocacy arm. This decision gives Edison "excessive revenue increases," it said in a prepared statement.

"The cumulative amount of the increases and the resulting rise in electric rates will impose an additional financial burden on Edison's Southern California customers and households during these difficult economic times," said DRA Deputy Director David Ashuckian in the statement.

For the full story click here.