Free Republic

<p>LOS ANGELES -- A California state senator will file a lawsuit Wednesday to void all the state's long-term electricity contracts based on an energy consultant's alleged conflict of interest, said a spokesman for Sen. Tom McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks.</p> <p>The lawsuit, which will be filed in state superior court in Pasadena, will claim that Vikram Budhraja violated California's government code when he helped negotiate on behalf of the government $43 billion in power contracts last year while being paid a consulting retainer by Edison International (EIX), McClintock spokesman John Stoos said Tuesday.</p>

Ethics: The firm paid a retainer of $100,000 or more last year to former executive who helped negotiate power pacts. SACRAMENTO -- The parent company of Southern California Edison paid $100,000 or more last year to a former executive who has done no work for the company but has helped negotiate long-term electricity contracts for California power buyers, according to state records and Edison officials. The former executive, Vikram Budhraja, said Edison International agreed to pay him a retainer of at least $100,000 a year when he resigned as a Southern California Edison senior vice president in January 2000....