3. NOI To Claim Compensation

UCAN timely filed its NOI within 30 days after the first prehearing conference and has established that its participation in this proceeding without an award of attorney's fees or costs would impose a significant financial hardship. Section 1802(g) defines "significant financial hardship" to mean:

"either that the customer cannot afford, without undue hardship, to pay the costs of effective participation, including advocate's fees, expert witness fees, and other reasonable costs of participation, or that, in the case of a group or organization, the economic interests of the individual members of that group or organization is small in comparison to the costs of effective participation in the proceeding."

UCAN has previously been found eligible to claim intervenor compensation in Commission proceedings. A finding of significant financial hardship for UCAN was made in an ALJ ruling issued on February 13, 1998 in Application (A.) 97-09-049. Since this proceeding (C.98-06-016) for which UCAN is seeking compensation was filed on June 2, 1998, it commenced within one year of the finding of eligibility in A.97-09-049. Pursuant to Section 1804(b)(1), there is a rebuttable presumption that UCAN remains eligible for compensation.