2. Requirements for Awards of Compensation
The intervenor compensation program, which is set forth in Pub. Util. Code §§ 1801-1812,3 requires California jurisdictional utilities to pay the reasonable costs of an intervenor's participation if that party makes a substantial contribution to the Commission's proceedings. The statute provides that the utility may adjust its rates to collect the amount awarded from its ratepayers.
All of the following procedures and criteria must be satisfied for an intervenor to obtain a compensation award:
1. The intervenor must satisfy certain procedural requirements including the filing of a sufficient notice of intent (NOI) to claim compensation within 30 days of the prehearing conference (PHC), pursuant to Rule 17.1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules), or at another appropriate time that we specify. (§ 1804(a).)
2. The intervenor must be a customer or a participant representing consumers, customers, or subscribers of a utility subject to our jurisdiction. (§ 1802(b).)
3. The intervenor must file and serve a request for a compensation award within 60 days of our final order or decision in a hearing or proceeding. (§ 1804(c).)
4. The intervenor must demonstrate "significant financial hardship." (§§ 1802(g) and 1804(b)(1).)
5. The intervenor's presentation must have made a "substantial contribution" to the proceeding, through the adoption, in whole or in part, of the intervenor's contention or recommendations by a Commission order or decision or as otherwise found by the Commission. (§§ 1802(i) and 1803(a).)
6. The claimed fees and costs must be reasonable (§ 1801), necessary for and related to the substantial contribution (D.98-04-059), comparable to the market rates paid to others with comparable training and experience (§ 1806), and productive (D.98-04-059).
In the discussion below, the procedural issues in Items 1-4 above are combined and a separate discussion of Items 5-6 follows.
2.1. Preliminary Procedural Issues
Under § 1804(a)(1) and Rule 17.1(a)(1), a customer who intends to seek an award of intervenor compensation must file an NOI before certain dates.
The Assigned Commissioner's Ruling (ACR) dated March 14, 2005, in Rulemaking (R.) 04-04-003 provided for a limited extension of the Commissioner's intervenor compensation program to participants in the California Energy Commission (CEC's) 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) process. The exception allowed "intervenors who participate in the 2005 CEC IEPR process ... to request and receive compensation for that participation if they (1) also participate in the subsequent, coordinated Commission procurement proceeding; (2) make a substantial contribution in that procurement proceeding; and (3) otherwise meet the statutory requirements for compensation."4 In R.04-04-003, the NRDC filed a supplemental NOI on March 25, 2005, and a request for intervenor compensation on January 20, 2006. We find it appropriate to resolve that request now because R.06-02-013 is the "subsequent, coordinated Commission procurement proceeding."
In its supplemental NOI, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) asserted financial hardship. NRDC meets the financial hardship condition pursuant to § 1804(b)(1) through a rebuttable presumption of eligibility because the Commission found NRDC met this requirement in another proceeding within one year of the commencement of this proceeding (Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Ruling dated November 10, 2005, in Application 05-06-004 et al.)
Section 1802(b)(1) defines a "customer" as: (A) a participant representing consumers, customers or subscribers of a utility; (B) a representative who has been authorized by a customer; or (C) a representative of a group or organization authorized pursuant to its articles of incorporation or bylaws to represent the interests of residential or small business customers. (§ 1802(b)(1)(A) through (C).)
NRDC meets this requirement as an organization authorized by its by laws to represent the interests of residential or small commercial customers, as defined in § 1802(b)(1)(C). In addition, NRDC has made a showing that its participation or intervention would impose a significant financial hardship, pursuant to § 1804(a)(2)(B). "[S]ignificant financial hardship," in the case of a group or organization, is defined by § 1804(g) as meaning that the economic interest of the individual members of the group or organization is small in comparison to the costs of effective participation in the proceeding. NRDC has made this showing based on a rebuttable presumption of eligibility pursuant to § 1804(b)(1), and was found eligible in another proceeding that commenced within one year of this proceeding (D.06-11-038, dated September 1, 2006). If any party attempts to rebut this presumption, NRDC is granted leave to furnish evidence of significant financial hardship within 10 days of the rebuttal's filing.
Although D.07-12-052 is not the final decision in this proceeding and the docket remains open, the Commission has held that requests for award of compensation may be filed prior to the issuance of a final decision.5
Regarding the timeliness of the request for compensation, NRDC filed its request for compensation on February 19, 2008, within 60 days of D.07-12-052 being issued. No party opposed the request. In view of the above, we find that NRDC has satisfied all the procedural requirements necessary to make its request for compensation in this proceeding.
3 All subsequent statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code unless otherwise indicated.
4 Assigned Commissioner's Ruling Detailing How the California Energy Commission 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report Process will be Used in the California Public Utilities Commission's 2006 Procurement Proceedings and Addressing Related Procedural Details" (ACR), dated March 14, 2005 in R.04-04-003 at 9.
5 D.04-02-016, pp. 2-3.
