...if a municipal utility would be formed, it would not be subject to CPUC oversight and the customers of the municipal utility would not need to be charged in the payback for past purchases as administered by the CPUC.
I love the hypocricy of these people. They want to retroactively charge businesses and government agencies like the university system - who had the good sense to choose direct access - for "opting out" of their little socialist nirvana. But if Willie Brown wants to do it...No problemo!
What is to keep the CPUC from charging San Francisco the same "severance fees" as they intend to charge the University of California?
Decide what you need the truth to be and fabricate so that everyone will agree!
Of coarse that may not work out as well out here since there is some Big Money involved!
CPUC would need to figure out a legal way of doing that.
Basically, the CPUC is only allowed by law to regulate privately or investor owned utilities. Public utilities are not regulated by the CPUC. A severance fee is levied upon IOU customers that are "allowed" by the CPUC permission to leave and that have their rates regulated by the CPUC when the customers finds another regulated utility to serve it.
Most state laws allow for a city to condemn IOU property and force a sale. In such a situation, the question is....does the CPUC have standing in the condemnation court proceeding and can the CPUC ask that charges be imposed to protect the "general public" when the condemnation laws don't speak to this kind of thing.