California Regulators Urge FERC to Deny Southern California Edison’s $1.6 Billion Early Cost Recovery Request

California utility regulators are urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject Southern California Edison’s request for early cost recovery status (CWIP) status for two transmission projects totalling $1.6 billion. The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) stated that the CWIP incentive has been harmful to California ratepayers and provides premature and excessive rate recovery. It allows transmission owners to recover the costs of their projects while they are being built, which can increase customer rates when projects take longer than expected to be built and costs increase beyond original forecasts. The PUC stated that SCE has a history of long delays and cost overruns related to CWIP projects, which magnify the harm to ratepayers. If FERC allows SCE to recover these costs through CWIP, eligibility should be capped at their estimated cost and the incentive should end when their expected in-service dates pass.