Newsom signs law trimming SCE profits on fire-prevention work Play

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for Californians to connect to microgrids, but he did approve a new law that will crack down on excessive profit making by Southern California Edison on fire-prevention work.

SCE is the for-profit company that delivers electricity to Malibu and the rest of Southern California. The new law will shave down the 10 percent guaranteed profit margin that SCE collects for putting its power lines underground in very high fire risk areas, like Malibu.

The governor did approve a weaker law Wednesday to gently push SCE into consumer microgrids — networks of customer-owned home batteries, solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and smart thermostats. Microgrids can be significantly cheaper as they link generation and consumption together into a local smart grid, that can be programmed to relieve the state's electric grid at times of high peak demand.

SCE campaigned against the changes. Spokesman David Eisenhauer told the LA Times - in effect - that SCE wants to be able to bank on higher guaranteed profits so it can borrow money at low interest rates for construction. That will save consumers money in the long run, he said.