CALIFORNIA UTILITIES ADDRESS AB 32

Last year, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state's Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act. So far, the areas already feeling the impact of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions regulation include cars and trucks, refrigeration, landfills, docked ships, semiconductors, cement plants, fertilizer manufacturers, and auto tune-up and oil change shops. The California Air Resources Board -- in charge of drafting carbon reduction rules for the nation's largest energy market -- currently is crafting regulations that go into effect in 2010. The threat of GHG emissions is real and the consequences severe, said Ray Williams, PG&E's director of long-term energy policy. A major PG&E initiative is support for plug-in hybrid electric-gas vehicles. Southern California Edison (SCE) did not support AB 32 initially. For its part, SCE can boast that it buys more renewable energy than any other utility in the country, obtaining roughly 16% of its power supply from sources deemed "renewable" by California.