OC Register: Hearings Tuesday on Edison [13%] rate increase

(from FRED SWEGLES for the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

The public is invited to a pair of hearings the California Public Utilities Commission will conduct Tuesday in San Clemente to solicit comments about Southern California Edison's request for a 12.87 percent general rate increase during the next three years. It's intended to cover Edison's projected costs in the three-year period, PUC spokesman Andrew Kotch said.

An administrative law judge will hear testimony at 2 and 7 p.m. Tuesday in the San Clemente Community Center at Avenida Del Mar and Calle Seville. The judge then will weigh the evidence in coming months before issuing a decision the PUC will be asked to vote on.

The average household's monthly bill would increase about $5 and would remain at the national average, SCE spokesman Gil Alexander said. Edison says the increase is needed to invest in improvements to maintain the reliability and security of the region's power-delivery grid.

Edison provides electric service to more than 14 million people in more than 180 cities in a 50,000-square-mile area of central, coastal and Southern California.