Southern California Edison Supports Limits on Moreno Valley

Southern California Edison Supports Limits on Moreno Valley, Calif., Utility

The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, Calif. - May 7, 2004

Southern California Edison has contributed more than $670,000 to support a proposed ballot measure that would place restrictions on Moreno Valley's city-owned utility company, according to a campaign finance report filed this week.

The Moreno Valley Residents for Responsible Utility Service committee, which is sponsoring the ballot measure, filed a campaign report on Tuesday showing it had received a $50,000 donation, a $600,000 loan and more than $20,000 in nonmonetary services from Edison. All the contributions were made in the first three months of this year.

Only one other donor was listed in the report: the Lake Forest consulting firm of Waters & Faubel contributed $250. The company is one of five consulting firms working on the campaign.

City Manager Gene Rogers said he wasn't surprised at the money Edison had committed to the campaign.

"I'm just surprised that they are going to spend this much this early," Rogers said by phone. "We're only in May, and we haven't gone through the campaign season yet."

The Moreno Valley City Council created a city-owned power company in 2001. The power company, which began service earlier this year, only provides power to new homes and businesses being built in town; existing Edison customers will not see a change in their service provider.

Moreno Valley Residents for Responsible Utility Service launched a signature-gathering campaign earlier this year to qualify a measure on the Nov. 2 ballot that would restrict how the power company is run. The committee is concerned that the utility could place Moreno Valley at financial risk given the volatile nature of the energy market.

The committee submitted more than 8,000 signatures last month. It needs about 5,000 valid signatures from registered Moreno Valley voters.

The Riverside County registrar of voters office is still reviewing the signatures' validity, City Clerk Alice Reed said by phone.

Marcia Amino, committee co-chairwoman, said she was grateful for Edison's support and wasn't concerned that it might come across as a big business trying to bully the city. Other businesses and "special interests" have contributed in Moreno Valley elections, she said.

"It's no different from any other campaign. This is a good way for us to get our message out," Amino said by phone. Without Edison "we would not have been as successful."

This is not the first time Edison has battled an Inland city over utility service. Corona dropped plans to take over service from Edison last year as part of a legal settlement in which both sides agreed to withdraw lawsuits against each other.

It was not immediately clear how the Moreno Valley committee would repay Edison's loan. Amino referred questions to Los Angeles attorney Dana Reed, the campaign's treasurer, but Reed could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Amino did say she expects the committee to raise funds from local residents as well.

The committee has spent a total of $315,239 through March 31, incurring $238,890 in expenses by employing the five different consulting firms, according to the report.

More than $70,000 was spent on gathering signatures in support of the ballot measure, including about $60,000 to hire a professional signature-gathering company from Northern California, according to the report.

The committee also spent $38,058 on print ads in local newspapers, including publications geared toward the black and Hispanic communities. Another $4,880 was spent on television ads.

Edison's ability to contribute so much money makes the campaign an "unfair battle," Rogers said.

"It's a drop in the bucket for them ... obviously, it's important to them," he said.

But Edison spokesman Charley Wilson said his corporation's contribution merely levels the playing field, because the city has controlled the agenda and debate so far.

"When you're sitting on the (council) dais and have all the advantages, what we're talking about here is a modest use of resources to help bring an important issue to light," Wilson said by phone.

The ballot measure would prohibit city officials from using general fund money to support the Moreno Valley utility company. Ballot measure advocates say the city should use general fund money for police, fire and emergency services instead.

In addition, the measure would restrict city officials from taking money out of the utility company for other purposes for at least five years. And they could do so only after a financial reserve is established and voters decided how the funds could be used.

But city officials say the measure would effectively prevent Moreno Valley from reaping the benefits of having a city-owned utility.

The utility company could help create jobs by offering discounted rates to bring selected businesses to town, they say. It also could generate additional revenue for city services and help wean Moreno Valley off the utility tax, officials add.

The ballot measure "is simply an effort to tie our hands and discourage other cities from getting involved in the utility business," Mayor Frank West said by phone.

The ballot measure has nothing to do with Edison losing customers, because Moreno Valley is only a small portion of Edison's service area, Edison spokesman Wilson said.

"It does very little for our portfolio," he said.

EDISON'S CONTRIBUTIONS

Edison's contributions will help pay, or have paid:

$238,890 for five campaign consultants

$70,846 on a signature-gathering effort

$38,058 for print ads

$27,208 for campaign literature

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