The Application
On January 17, 2003, SCE filed its application, seeking authorization from the Commission to enter into the lease with VOA. SCE's application is made under Section 851, which requires Commission approval before a utility can sell, lease, assign, mortgage, or otherwise encumber the whole or any part of its property that is necessary or useful in the performance of its duties to the public. Leasing real property on which transmission towers and lines are located is therefore one of the enumerated activities that requires approval under Section 851.2
2 As the Commission previously stated: "The language of Section 851 is expansive, and we conclude that it makes sense to read "encumber" in this statute as embracing the broader sense of placing a physical burden, which affects the physical condition of the property, on the utility's plant, system, or property." (Decision (D.) 92-07-007, 45 CPUC 2d 24, 29.)
