Southern California Edison Co. Not Liable for Uncollected Tax

Southern California Edison Co. isn’t responsible for uncollected consumer taxes in the city of Torrance, Calif., but the consumers who underpaid might be, a state appellate court said.

Edison provides electricity to residents and businesses in the city of Torrance, and collects a tax on charges for its services, which it remits to the city. Torrance sued in 2019, alleging Edison failed to remit the full amount of tax owed to the city under the electricity tax ordinance, and seeking to hold the company liable for underpayment.

Instead of charging the tax based on the total cost of an electricity ...