Cleary Gottlieb represented BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc., as representatives of the underwriters, in an offering of $900 million floating-rate first and refunding mortgage bonds, Series 2020D, due 2021 by Southern California Edison Co. (SCE).
The senior debt securities are secured by a lien on substantially all of SCE’s property and franchises. The net proceeds from the offering of the bonds will be used to partially repay the company’s AB 1054 credit facility and commercial paper borrowings. AB 1054 established a statewide wildfire insurance fund, which is funded in part by California’s three largest investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric, SCE, and San Diego Gas & Electric. The bond transaction priced on December 1, 2020, and will close on December 4, 2020.
SCE is an investor-owned public utility primarily engaged in the business of supplying and delivering electricity to an approximately 50,000 square mile area of Southern California, excluding the City of Los Angeles and certain other cities. It owns and operates transmission, distribution, and generation facilities, and procures power from a variety of sources, including other utilities, merchant generators, and other nonutility generators.