Posted on 09/07/2005 8:10:08 AM PDT by SmithL
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Government-run utilities that overcharged California during the state's energy crisis will not have to pay refunds the state estimates at nearly $1 billion, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling is a blow to California, which is seeking up to $9 billion in refunds from utilities it accused of overcharging for power.
"This ruling does not mean that these entities did not rip us off," said Tom Dresslar, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. "What it means is they can escape accountability for their actions."
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lacks authority over the government-run utilities California was targeting for reimbursement. Those include the Oregon-based Bonneville Power Administration, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and several others.
State and federal officials couldn't say how much the regulatory commission would have ordered in refunds from those utilities, but California's attorney general estimated it could have reached $1 billion. . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
The Blame Game.
Hey Lockyer...HA HA!!!
The irony is thick here.
The 9th court even said that capitilism is the product of supply and demand (my words of course, not theirs). Gray Davis made deals with power companies and imported electricity at agreed upon rates. California demanded electricity that they could not provide themselves and the power companies in neighboring states supplied it. Now that they realize that they overspent their budget and did not have the eletrical infrastructure to distribute the electricity to the major metropolitan areas they would like the power companies to reimburse them?
Arnold ought to put it to the people of California.
"Should we build two nuclear power plants, 5 oil refineries and issue tax free zoning ordinances for oil exploration off the pacific coast?"
BC Hydro is still waiting for PG&E to cough up...
Here we go again. This will be another reason to raise taxes here in the great welfare state of California.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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