With respect to financing arrangements which are established after January 1, 1988, no electrical, gas, or telephone corporation, whose rates are set by the commission on a cost-of-service basis, shall issue any bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness of any kind pledging the utility assets or credit for or on behalf of any subsidiary or affiliate of, or corporation holding a controlling interest in, the electrical, gas, or telephone corporation. The commission may, however, authorize an electrical, gas, or telephone corporation to issue any bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness pledging the utility assets or credits as follows:
The commission shall not approve the bond, note, lien, guarantee, or indebtedness unless the commission finds and determines that the proposed financing will benefit the interests of the utility and its ratepayers.
Ca. Pub. Util. Code § 701.5