The harmful effects include lost sales, lost revenues, lost productivity, foregone wages, layoffs, unemployment, business not expanding in California, and businesses moving out of California. For some customers, such as hospitals and prisons, this choice threatens public health and safety. Alternatively, customers can continue to operate and incur large penalties. These penalties may threaten the financial integrity of their operations and businesses, and have the same deleterious effects on the California economy. Neither alternative is acceptable.
Customers essentially face an irreconcilable dilemma.
Temporary suspension of the penalties is preferable to customers continuing to face this unacceptable choice. As a result, we suspend until further order all penalties that would otherwise be incurred effective today and going forward for all customers on interruptible schedules. By suspension we mean that the appropriate portions of the tariffs are withdrawn. As a result, utilities will not bill customer for penalties, nor track them for possible future payment. Suspension of penalties also means that we should suspend the tolling of hours, number of curtailment events, and other aspects of the program.