People are mad at Edison. Is it time for private utilities to go?

To the editor: Given all the trouble caused by Southern California Edison, is it time to make our electric companies public utilities? Having a public utility can’t be worse than having a private one. (“ Preemptive power shutoffs that have gone on for days draw complaints from Inland Empire residents, politicians ,” Jan. 25) Neglecting equipment and failing to make upgrades before something happens seem to be the company’s practice, as does paying executives top pay while increasing customers’ already high monthly bills.

Shame on Southern California Edison. Parent company Edison International is publicly traded. It currently pays an annual dividend of $3.



31 per share (nearly a 6% yield), so I’d say that along with the top executives, Edison’s stockholders are doing just fine. Those funds, both those excessive salaries and dividends, should be reinvested in improving the company’s equipment first, so that these outages and fires are mitigated first. Paul Thompson, Manhattan Beach .

. To the editor: It’s quite simple to deduce what’s happening here. The more Edison is sued both successfully and speciously, the lower the bar is going to be set for power cutoffs and their duration.

We will have to accept this or give Edison some form of protection. Tony Wolcott, Newport Beach.