SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Southern California Edison Co. is planning 1,450 layoffs in coming months as the result of a power crisis that has pushed the utility to the brink of bankruptcy and prompted President Clinton to a call a White House meeting on the issue.

The layoff announcement on Friday came as Energy Secretary Bill Richardson granted a reprieve to SoCal Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Co. by extending an order requiring suppliers to sell California electricity to avoid blackouts.

Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, National Economic Council director Gene Sperling and Richardson were among those expected to attend the White House meeting on Tuesday. It was unclear if Gov. Gray Davis, expected to discuss the issue in his State of the State Address on Monday, would attend, said spokesman Steve Maviglio.

"The idea there is to try to create some sort of framework that could help to alleviate the supply crunch that California is experiencing now in energy," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert.

Richardson's order was scheduled to expire Friday, but the extension takes it through next Thursday. To keep it in place past Tuesday, the state must implement measures to reduce peak demand 5 percent by Jan. 15.

-- kevin (ktross@mailcity.com), January 06, 2001