5. Reasonableness of Requested Compensation

Joint Intervenors request $69,652.49⁸ as follows:

According to the May 24, 2002 letter from Aglet on behalf of the Joint Intervenors, $13,430.72 of the claimed amount relates to TURN's efforts in A.93-12-025/I.94-02-002 leading to D.02-01-063, and the remainder relates to Joint Intervenors' efforts in A.00-10-045/A.01-01-044. Because we deny without prejudice the compensation request as it relates to A.00-10-045/A.01-01-044, our review of the reasonableness of the claim focuses on the $13,430.72 claimed by TURN. The $13,430.72 breaks down as follows:

5.1 Hours Claimed

Time logs submitted by Joint Intervenors include a daily breakdown of hours by activity. We focus only on the time claimed by TURN related to A.93-12-025/I.94-02-002 because Aglet and UCAN did not record any time associated with A.93-12-025/I.94-02-002. TURN did not claim any hours associated with reviewing the compensation request. We find that TURN has adequately and reasonably supported the 40.75 hours for which they claim compensation related to A.93-12-025/I.94-02-002.

5.2 Hourly Rates

Section 1806 requires the Commission to compensate eligible parties at a rate that reflects the "market rate paid to persons of comparable training and experience who offer similar services." We have previously adopted the requested rates for Robert Finkelstein ($310/hour) and Michel Florio ($350/hour) for 2001 in D.02-06-070 and we utilize them again here. We do not address the hourly rates requested for advocates who worked only on A.00-10-045/A.01-01-044.

5.3 Other Costs

Joint Intervenors have identified $768.22 in expenses associated with TURN's efforts related to A.93-12-025/I.94-02-002. Compensation is sought for photocopying, postage, facsimile, and telephone expenses. TURN has included detailed supporting documentation, which is further supplemented by the May 24, 2002 letter to ALJ Prestidge. We find these expenses reasonable.