PG&E files for right to recover power costs Wednesday November 8, 4:28 PM EST SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 8 (Reuters) - PG&E Corp.'s (PCG) Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Wednesday it is seeking a federal court declaration that it has the right to recover its wholesale power costs through retail rates.

The utility has run up billions of dollars in uncollected costs this year due to skyrocketing prices for the power it buys on behalf of its customers. It cannot currently pass on those costs as customer rates remain frozen under the terms of the states' trailblazing power deregulation legislation.

PG&E said it had filed for the declaration in federal district court in San Francisco.

The utility also said it continues to work with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other policy makers to develop solutions to the crisis in wholesale electricity prices.

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&news_id=reu-n08126401&feed=reu&date=20001108&cat=INDUSTRY

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 08, 2000