Calls to Overturn San Onofre Settlement Intensify Amid PUC Revelations

The California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) mission is to protect consumers. But a former CPUC president and some commission members face allegations they were more interested in protecting the companies they're charged with regulating at consumers' expense. In Sacramento on Monday, two bills passed in committee that would limit the power of the CPUC's president and set guidelines on private contact between the commission and energy companies. Watchdog groups questioned the actions of the CPUC's president after an equipment failure led to the closure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant in San Diego County. In that case, it was ratepayers -- not Southern California Edison, which owns the majority of the plant -- that were stuck with the multi-billion-dollar tab to close it down.