Assignment of Proceeding
Michael R. Peevey is the Assigned Commissioner and Kenneth L. Koss is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.
1. GO 77 requires most utilities operating in California, including all Tier 1 utilities, to annually report the compensation data for it executives and certain employees.
2. The Commission uses GO 77 data for the purpose of setting the rates of most utilities.
3. The data filed in the GO 77 reports are open to the public and include employee names, salaries, expense accounts, contingent fees and reimbursed dues and donations.
4. The scope of the subject rulemaking was limited to three areas for possible revision to GO 77-K: annual compensation levels that trigger reporting to the Commission and establishing an automatic annual change to these levels; exempting certificated CLECs and NDIECs from the GO; and reporting information on employee names as confidential material, subject to Pub. Util. Code § 583.
5. In January 2004, Greenlining and PG&E filed a joint petition to modify the rulemaking to expand its scope to include, for Tier 1 utilities, the requirements of reporting the compensation of utility holding company executives, reporting bonuses awarded but not yet paid in the reporting year, providing written verification from an independent auditor on these report elements and providing an internet site-link to all related SEC documents.
6. D.04-08-055 adopted GO 77-L with revised rules for filing executive and employee compensation data within the three areas of the initial scope of the rulemaking.
7. D.04-08-055 also granted the Greenlining/PG&E petition to modify, in part, to expand the scope of the rulemaking to include and solicit further comment on Tier 1 utilities reporting holding company executive compensation and reporting bonuses awarded, but not paid in the reporting year.
8. The Small LEC's filed an application for rehearing of D.04-08-055 regarding the confidentiality of names in GO 77 reports.
9. D.05-04-030 denied rehearing in this matter and also amended D.04-08-055 to allow utilities to redact all individual names, under certain conditions, from their GO 77 reports.
10. On April 21, 2005, three employees of the Small LECs, as individuals, filed a joint petition in the State Court of Appeal for a stay and writ of review of D.04-08-055 and D.05-04-030.
11. The Court of Appeal denied the request for a stay on April 22, 2005, and denied the petition for a writ of review on July 28, 2005.
12. Tier 1 utilities annually file compensation data on its executives and of its holding company executives with the SEC.
13. SEC documents are open to the public and include data on salary, stock options, pension plans, bonuses and severance packages.
14. The Greenlining/PG&E petition to modify was filed relative to concerns in other Commission proceedings involving PG&E in 2003-2004 regarding its emergence from bankruptcy, general rate case and concurrent awarding of $84 million in executive retention bonuses.
15. D.04-05-055, relative to reporting executive compensation, directs PG&E to provide in its GO 77 reports compensation data for holding company executives, bonuses awarded but not paid in the reporting year and an internet site-link to related SEC executive compensation reports.
16. The issues and circumstances surrounding the PG&E bankruptcy, general rate case and retention bonuses are specific to PG&E, were appropriately addressed on a case-specific basis and do not apply to other Tier 1 utilities.
17. Both Tier 1 telecommunication utilities in the state (Verizon and SBC) operate under the NRF and do not use executive compensation data to set rates.
18. Requiring data on Tier 1 utility holding company executive compensation and on bonuses awarded but not paid in GO 77 reports is burdensome and unnecessary for the needs of the Commission.
19. For Tier 1 utilities generally, the data included in the GO 77-L reports and the SEC documents is sufficient for the Commission's ratemaking purposes.
20. Access to the SEC executive compensation reports of Tier 1 utilities is necessary for interested parties to review ratemaking data.
1. GO 77-L should not be amended and this proceeding should be closed.
2. Tier 1 utilities (those with over $1 billion annual operating revenue) should be required to include in all future GO 77 reports, an internet site-link to all documents filed with the SEC related to executive compensation.
3. Today's order should be made effective immediately.
4.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. General Order (GO) 77-L shall not be amended.
2. Tier 1 utilities (those with over $1 billion annual operating revenue) shall include in all future GO 77 reports an internet site-link to all documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that relate to executive compensation.
3. This proceeding is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated _____________________, at San Francisco, California.
