HomeMy WebLinkAboutF-5 California Ballot Measure Seeks to Create Statewide Public Power Utility Information Item
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INFORMATION ITEM
TO: HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE AZUSA UTILITY
BOARD
FROM: GEORGE F. MORROW,DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
DATE: NOVEMBER 23,2015
SUBJECT: CALIFORNIA BALLOT MEASURE SEEKS TO CREATE STATEWIDE PUBLIC
POWER UTILITY
From the November 9,2015 issue of Public Power Daily:
"California's investor-owned utilities would be bought out and become publicly owned under a
ballot initiative that was recently cleared to begin collecting signatures.
The initiative calls for creating the California Electrical Utility District to replace Pacific Gas &
Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison. Existing public power utilities
wouldn't be directly affected, but could join if they wanted, Ben Davis, Jr., the
initiative's proponent,said.
The statewide utility district would be run by an 11-member elected board, with each member
representing a ward.
Under the measure,the statewide public power utility would acquire property, build infrastructure,
set electricity rates, impose taxes and issue bonds. Davis said the initiative was modeled after the
creation of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which was formed in the 1940s by buying
PG&E's system in the Sacramento area. Davis served on SMUD's rate advisory board in the early
1990s.
PG&E has about 5.4 million electric customers accounts, SCE has about 5 million customer
accounts and SDG&E has about 1.4 million customer accounts.
The California Secretary of State on Oct. 30 cleared Davis to begin collecting signatures so the
initiative can appear on the November 2016 ballot. Davis must collect 365,880 signatures from
registered voters by April 26.
Under new elections laws, if Davis is able to get 25 percent of the required ballot signatures,
California Senate and Assembly committees will be required to hold hearings on the proposal.
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Statewide Public Power Proposal
November 23,2015
Page 2
In the last two years, Davis failed to get enough signatures for two similar public power ballot
initiatives. Davis said those efforts were"dry runs,"mainly designed to see what the fiscal analysis
for the proposal would look like. In mid-October, the Legislative Analyst's Office, which assesses
ballot measures, said it was impossible to know exactly what the fiscal impact of the public power
ballot initiative would be,beyond creating"a substantial net change in state and local finances."
Among the benefits of forming a statewide public power district,Davis contends that public power
utilities can provide electric service at lower rates than IOUs.
Separately,Davis led a ballot initiative effort that would have essentially required PG&E to shutter
the 2,160-MW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant— California's last nuclear generator. The initiative
failed when it didn't gather enough signatures by a late September deadline."
By: Ethan Howland
Contributing Writer
Prepared by: George F. Morrow,Director of Utilities
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