Southern California Edison has repeatedly insisted that its former government affairs manager, state legislator Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier), was never an executive at the company.
But this wasn't what Edison told the federal government.
Calderon sponsored Edison's preferred legislation that would cut the honors many homeowners have received for generating electricity using rooftop solar panels.
Edison opposed the Times' identification of Calderon as a former executive in the utility and claimed on its website that news organizations are "choosing sensational facts, not facts."
However, in a formal report to the Federal Election Commission, the utility's political action committee, the utility's parent company, listed Calderon's career as an executive, which filed twelve documents before she left the company's campaign office in 2020.
An example of reports made by Edison International Political Action Committee to the Federal Election Commission.
The Treasurer of the PAC signed all the documents and said “as far as I know and believe, this information is true, correct and complete.”
When asked to explain the contradiction, Edison spokeswoman Kathleen Dunleavy said the company pointed to a group of executives who met the committee's definition of the committee, but not Edison herself.
Edison uses the term “designate a person in a high position”, such as “employee director, vice president or similar titles.” She said because Edison doesn't think Calderon is an executive, nor should anyone else.
Calderon earlier told Times that she is a senior consultant for government affairs at Edison International. In other biographies, she is described as the Director of Government Affairs. She said on Monday that her official title is Government Affairs Manager.
She has been managing the parent company's political action committee for years.
Calderon said in a statement that she did not fill out the report of the PAC. Instead, they were prepared and filed by a corporate law firm, she said.
"She is classified as an executive for FEC application purposes due to her professional responsibilities," her office said. "This does not mean she is an executive of Edison."
Lisa Calderon has been managing Edison International’s Political Action Committee for years
(EIPAC - 2019 Annual Report)
Calderon’s AB 942 will significantly reduce the financial honors that roof panel owners receive when sending unused power to the grid.
The bill applies to those who install teams by April 15, 2023. This will limit the current planned benefits to 10 years, which is half the 20-year period the state tells roof owners will receive. If a home is sold, the bill will also cancel solar contracts. It is not suitable for customers served by municipal power companies.
Edison and other large for-profit utilities in the state have long struggled to reduce energy credits designed to enable Californians to invest in rooftop solar panels. The popularity of this system has led to electricity sales.
Calderon, Edison and other Bill supporters noted that an analysis by the California Public Utilities Commission’s Office of Public Advocates found that energy credit granting roof owners is increasing electricity bills for people without solar panels.
The first hearing on the bill is scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Edison has been under censorship since January 7, when the video captured the devastating Eton wildfire, ignited under one of its transmission towers. The wildfire killed 18 people and destroyed thousands of homes, businesses and other buildings in Altadena.
Edison said it is working with investigators who are working to determine the cause of hell.