Feds Approve $4 Million in SoCal Energy Settlements

AZUSA – Federal energy officials say they have approved more than $4 million in settlements over losses sustained in Southern California during the state’s electricity crisis.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says the money will be paid with funds from the

now-defunct California Power Exchange, a nonprofit energy broker created in 1997 as part of

deregulation.

The settlements are between the cities of Riverside, Anaheim and Azusa and a group of utilities and other state entities, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co. and the California Public Utilities Commission.

The payments are the latest in a string of settlements to emerge from the federal investigation into claims of price-gouging during the power crisis in 2000 and 2001.

The supply shortages led to rolling blackouts. Price spikes resulted in PG&E, the state’s largest utility, filing for bankruptcy protection.

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