SCE Bill: Schwarzenegger Cannot Enact

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger slapped down Southern California Edison's attempt to guarantee profits by re-regulating the State's energy markets:

Both Edison and Calpine want to construct badly needed plants, and both undertook intensive lobbying and advertising efforts this year related to the legislation, AB2006.

In vetoing the bill, which was carried by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, and sponsored by Edison, Schwarzenegger said Saturday that it would have added "layers of mandates and process that favor monopoly utilities. ''

The governor said that the state's Public Utilities Commission is implementing market rules that will spark power plant construction and that the bill would have delayed progress.

Maybe next year there will be a serious effort to address California's electricity imbalance. Maybe.