8. Productivity
D.98-04-059 directed customers to demonstrate productivity by assigning a reasonable dollar value to the benefits of their participation to ratepayers. (D.98-04-059 at 34-35.) The costs of a customer's participation should bear a reasonable relationship to the benefits realized through its participation. This showing assists us in determining the overall reasonableness of the request. Aglet states that it contributed to the proceeding in a manner that was productive and will result in benefits to ratepayers that exceed the costs of its participation.
As previously mentioned, Aglet and DRA opposed PG&E's proposal for automatic pre-approval of all RPS contracts with durations of less than three years. Aglet has previously calculated that ratepayers will lose at least $16.29 million annually if a 100 MW plant is not built due to the lack of a long-term contract.20 Thus, the displacement of a single MW of plant capacity by a short-term contract would cost ratepayers roughly $163,000 per year, or more than ten times the award requested by Aglet.
We agree with Aglet's assessment of its productivity and concur that inclusive of the reductions we make to this claim, that Aglet's contribution to D.07-02-011, D.08-05-029, and D.09-06-050 reasonably justifies the compensation we approve here today.
20 Aglet's Comments in R.06-02-012, filed December 1, 2006, at 5-6.
