6. Assignment of Proceeding
Michel Peter Florio is the assigned Commissioner and Seaneen M. Wilson is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.
1. SONGS is located on the California coast 62 miles southeast of Los Angeles, in San Diego County, near the City of San Clemente. The site is located within the boundaries of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. Each of the two units in operation at SONGS has two steam generators in which the heat from water circulated through the reactor is used to turn another stream of water into steam to power turbines that turn electric generators.
2. By A.06-04-018, SDG&E requested, in part, the Commission's approval of its participation in the SGRP for SONGS Units 2 and 3. We had previously authorized SCE's participation in the SGRP in D.05-12-040.
3. By D.06-11-026, we approved an unopposed settlement in A.06-04-018, between SDG&E, DRA, and SCE, of the ratemaking treatment of SDG&E's share of the costs related to the SGRP at SONGS Units 2 and 3. This ratemaking treatment was consistent with what we authorized for SCE in D.05-12-040. The settlement also authorized SDG&E to recover, through a Balancing Account, the difference between authorized and actual SONGS O&M expenses billed by SCE.
4. The approved settlement in D.06-11-026 stated that this Balancing Account would remain in effect through SDG&E's next GRC cycle that commenced on January 1, 2008, and, after January 1, 2008, SDG&E would be allowed to file an application to continue this Balancing Account. Since SDG&E's last GRC covered a 2004 TY and three attrition years, we interpreted the settlement to mean that we authorized the Balancing Account from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2011.
5. In its TY 2012 GRC application, SDG&E requested a continuation of its Balancing Account. This request includes testimony, as required by D.06-11-026, that addresses whether 100% recovery provides SDG&E with any incentive to minimize such costs.
6. On May 16, 2011, Judge Regina M. DeAngelis approved SDG&E's re-filing of its Petition to Modify D.06-11-026 pursuant to Rule 16.4. Pursuant to this approval, SDG&E filed the instant Petition to modify D.06-11-026 to permit the extension of SDG&E's approved Balancing Account.
7. The current procedural schedule in SDG&E's TY 2012 GRC application includes an expected final decision in March 2012.
8. The current proposed SONGS revenue requirement (including SDG&E's share) is being determined in the SCE TY 2012 GRC. A final decision in the SCE case is not expected until December 2011.
9. Rule 16.4(b) requires that a petition for modification concisely state the justification for the proposed relief and propose specific wording for all requested modifications.
10. Rule 16.4(d) states that if more than one year has elapsed since the effective date of the decision, then the petition must explain why it could not have been presented within one year of the effective date of the decision.
1. SDG&E's petition for modification of D.06-11-026 has complied with both Rule 16.4(b) and Rule 16.4(d). SDG&E provided a concise but thorough statement of justification for the proposed modifications related to D.06-11-026; and since no one knew until March 2011 that SDG&E's TY 2012 GRC final decision would be issued after December 31, 2011, SDG&E has provided justification for presenting the current petition more than one year after the effective date of D.06-11-026.
2. SDG&E's petition to modify D.06-11-026 (Finding of Fact 11) is reasonable and should be adopted, as set out in Attachment A to this decision.
3. One additional modification should be made to page 13 of D.06-11-026 so that the body of this decision is consistent with the modified Finding of Fact 11. This additional modification is set out in Attachment A to this decision.
4. A.06-04-018 should be closed.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. San Diego Gas & Electric Company's May 16, 2011 Petition to Modify Decision 06-11-026, in particular Finding of Fact 11, is granted as set out in Attachment A to this decision.
2. Application 06-04-018 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated July 28, 2011, at San Francisco, California.
MICHAEL R. PEEVEY
President
TIMOTHY ALAN SIMON
MICHEL PETER FLORIO
CATHERINE J.K. SANDOVAL
MARK J. FERRON
Commissioners
Attachment A
Modifications to Decision 06-11-026
Modifications to the text of Decision 06-11-026 are underlined.
Page 13, first full paragraph:
Pursuant to the settlement, the two-way balancing account would remain in effect through SDG&E's next rate case cycle that will commence on January 1, 2008 and, after January 1, 2008, SDG&E would be allowed to file an application to continue the two-way balancing account. SDG&E's last general rate case covered a test year (2004) and three attrition years. Therefore, we interpret this to mean that the settlement would authorize the two-way balancing account from January 1, 2007 through the later of December 31, 2011 or the issuance of a decision setting SDG&E's base rate revenue requirement for Test Year 2012. Our approval of the settlement, as it pertains to the two-way balancing account, is conditioned on this assumption.
