5. Reasonableness of Requested Compensation

CARE requests $39,100.45¹¹ for its participation in this proceeding, as follows:

Work on Proceeding
Attorney/Staff	Year		Hours	Hourly Rate	Totals $
Michael Boyd	2007		86.012	$125	10,750
Michael Boyd	2008		23.0	$135	3,105
Lynne Brown	2007		24.0	$110	2,640
Lynne Brown	2008		6.0	$119	714
Martin Homec	2007		16.6	$500	8,300
Martin Homec	2008		13.3	$540	7,182
Alfredo Figueroa	2007		13.0	$100	1,300
Carmella Figueroa	2007		9.0	$100	900
Patricia Figueroa	2007		9.0	$100	900
Subtotal Hourly Compensation					$35,791.00
Travel and NOI and Intervenor Compensation Preparation (1/2 rate)
Michael Boyd (Travel)		2007	8.0	$ 63		504
Michael Boyd		2007	6.0	$ 63		378
Michael Boyd		2008	4.0	$ 68		272
Lynne Brown		2008	1.0	$ 59		59
Martin Homec		2008	6.0	$270		1,620
Subtotal Travel and NOI and Intervenor Compensation Preparation $2,833.00
Expenses					$476.57
Total Request for Compensation					$39,100.57

In general, the components of this request must constitute reasonable fees and costs of the customer's preparation for and participation in a proceeding that resulted in a substantial contribution. The issues we consider to determine reasonableness are discussed below:

5.1. Hours and Costs Related to and Necessary for Substantial Contribution

We first assess whether the hours claimed for the customer's efforts that resulted in substantial contributions to Commission decisions are reasonable by determining to what degree the hours and costs are related to the work performed and necessary for the substantial contribution. In addition, when intervenors utilize multiple people to represent their interests, they must provide us with sufficient information to ensure that their work is not duplicative of one another.

CARE has documented its claimed hours by presenting a daily breakdown of the hours of its attorneys, accompanied by a brief description of each activity.

The table listed below outlines adjustments we have made to CARE's request for compensation. In general, the disallowances are for hours that we considered excessive or inefficient given the nature of the contribution or product produced.

CPUC Disallowances & Adjustments

Participant	Reason
2007-Boyd 2007-Brown 2007-Homec	Mar-07-each participant logged 2 hrs. for "reading and reviewing A.07-02-026 application and IE report." We find these hours to be duplicative of each others efforts and inefficient. As such, we disallow 50% of these hours - Boyd 1 hr., Brown 1 hr. and Homec 1 hr.
2007-Boyd 2007-Brown	Mar-07-Boyd and Brown both logged 5 hrs. for "reading and reviewing A.07-02-026 Notice of PHC and application." Homec logged 2 hrs. for the same task. We find these efforts to be duplicative of each others efforts and inefficient. As such, we approve Homec's time and disallow Boyd 3 hrs. and Brown 5 hrs.
2007-Boyd 2007-Brown	Mar 07-Boyd and Brown both logged 2 hrs. for "drafting PHC statement." We find these efforts to be duplicative of each others efforts and inefficient. As such, we disallow 50% of these hours- Boyd 1 hr. and Brown 1 hr.
2007-Boyd 2007-Brown	Mar 07-Boyd, and Brown each logged 3 hrs. for "complete PHC, filing and serving on CPUC and PHC finalized and served on parties." We find these efforts to be duplicative of each others efforts, inefficient and excessive. We disallow Boyd 2 hrs. and Brown 2 hrs.
2007-Boyd	May 07- Boyd logged 9 hrs. for "drafting declaration and testimony and discuss PPH with Pete Skala." CARE submitted a total of 5 pages of testimony. In SCE's opposition to CARE's claim13 they oppose full compensation in this area because half of the testimony was withdrawn by CARE because it was not proper testimony.14 We agree with SCE that CARE's efforts here were not productive and disallow 50% (4.5 hrs.) of Boyd's time, equal to the portion of the testimony withdrawn by CARE.
2007-Boyd 2007-Brown 2007-Homec	June 07-CARE logged an approximate total of 41.6 hrs.15 - Boyd-29.0 hrs., Brown 7.0 hrs. and Homec 5.6 hrs. "drafting opening brief, finalizing and service of opening brief and consultation with DRA." These hours are excessive given the length (8 pages) and the product produced. We approve a total of 15 hrs. for all participants for this task. We reduce Boyd's time by 24.0 hrs., Brown's time by 2.0 hrs., and Homec's time by .6 hrs., to evenly distribute the approved hours.

2008 Boyd 2008 Brown	Mar 08-Brown and Boyd both log 1 hr. on 3-16 for "reviewing PD for Approval of Contract with CPV Ocotillo LLC." We disallow this task for both parties as being relative only to D.08-04-011, for which CARE seeks no compensation. Boyd's and Brown's time are both reduced by 1 hr.
2008-Boyd 2008-Brown 2008-Homec	Apr 08-All totaled, CARE has billed 19.3 hrs. (11 hrs. Boyd, 4 hrs. Brown and 4.3 hrs. for Homec) for "research, writing, drafting and finalizing CARE's comments." These hours are excessive given the length (4 pages) and the product produced. We approve a total of 8 hrs. for all participants for this task. We reduce Boyd's time by 8.0 hrs., Brown's time by 2.0 hrs. and Homec's time by 1.3 hrs., to distribute the approved hours.
Hours claimed for NOI and intervenor compensation preparation	The hours CARE bills for intervenor compensation preparation (17) are excessive, given that the claim is a short request related to a single Commission decision. CARE is experienced in claim preparation and we would expect to see more efficient use of time for completion of this task. We encourage CARE to use the standardized intervenor compensation forms and claims available on our website to achieve greater efficiency in this area. We allow a total of 10 hrs. collectively for all participants, which we believe to be more reasonable. As such, we reduce Boyd's 2007 hrs. by 3.0 hrs. and Homec's 2008 hrs. by 4.0 to achieve this allowance. This adjusted total more closely reflects our standards of reasonableness.
Total Hourly Disallowances	2007-Boyd 35.5 hrs. of professional time; 3.0 hrs. Icomp matters (1/2 rate) 2007-Brown 11.0 hrs. of professional time 2007- Homec 1.6 hrs. of professional time 2008-Boyd 9.0 hrs. of professional time 2008-Brown 3.0 hrs. of professional time 2008- Homec 1.3 hrs. of professional time; 4 hrs. Icomp matters (1/2 rate)

Excluding adjustments we have made to participant hourly rates and the disallowances listed above, the remainder of CARE's hours for its attorney and experts reasonably support its claim.

5.2. Intervenor Hourly Rates

We next take into consideration whether the claimed fees and costs are comparable to the market rates paid to experts and advocates having comparable training and experience and offering similar services. Rates for Homec, Boyd, and Brown were most recently adopted by the Commission in D.09-05-012 for their 2008 work. We have reviewed the rational for the justification of hourly rates in that decision and believe it to be reasonable. Therefore, we apply the same rates here without further discussion:

CARE presented three of its members: Alfredo Figueroa, Patricia Figueroa, and Carmella Figueroa who live in the community neighboring the Blythe power plant at the Public Participation Hearing. They offered expert testimony in the proceeding to explain the impact of the Commission's actions on their community and on their religious heritage. The hours of compensation are related to their participation in the hearing, an ALJ field trip to the site and time spent preparing for the hearing (consultation with Primitivo Garcia from the United Farm Workers and for pictures taken of the site, before and after the Blythe I). CARE requests an hourly rate of $100 for each of these individuals, which is within the range of $120-$180 established in Rulemaking 06-08-019 for experts with 0-6 years of experience. We adopt this rate here for each of these individuals.

5.3. Direct Expenses

CARE requests reimbursement for expenses¹⁶ as follows:

Expenses
Mileage (372 miles x 44¢)	$163.68
Airfare (San Jose to Phoenix) round-trip	$183.80
Rental Car	$ 54.16
Hotel	$ 74.93
Total	$476.57

We approve these costs as being reasonable and commensurate with the work performed.

¹¹ CARE makes several minor calculation errors in its totals, and requests $39,592.00 We correct these errors here and use the corrected amounts for consideration in this award.

¹² CARE fails to separate Boyd's travel time from his professional time on July 12, 2007, where it logs 16 hrs. for "Blythe to participate in PPH and ALJ field trip." We allocate 8 hrs. of professional time for these activities and move the remaining 8 hrs. under the correct area of this claim for those tasks for which compensation is awarded at ½ hourly rates. We correct this error, recalculate the amount of the claim and use this corrected amount for consideration in this award. To avoid future disallowances, we remind CARE that future claims must separate travel time from professional time.

¹³ Opposition of Southern California Edison Company (U 338-E) to Request for an Award of Intervenor Compensation to CAlifornians For Renewable Energy, filed on January 20, 2009 at 2.

¹⁴ May 30, 2007 Hearing Transcript at 138:15-140:12.

¹⁵ CARE has combined unrelated tasks in several entries so an exact breakdown is not possible.

¹⁶ Under § 1802(d), reasonable expenses will be compensated if the intervenor has made a substantial contribution in a proceeding for which it is seeking compensation. To facilitate approval for these costs, please ensure that all future claims initially include receipts for expenses for which compensation is being requested. Failure to do so may result in disallowances.