VI. Ex Parte Communications

This proceeding is subject to Rule 7(c) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, which specifies standards for engaging in ex parte communications and the reporting of such communications in ratesetting proceedings. Rule 7(c) also requires parties to report ex parte communications pursuant to Rule 7.1.

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that:

1. A rulemaking is instituted on the Commission's own motion to examine the Commission's policies for advanced metering, demand response, and dynamic pricing.

2. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Southern California Edison (Edison), and San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), are Respondents to this proceeding.

3. The petition of the California Consumer Empowerment Alliance to modify D.97-05-039 is moved from consideration in R.94-04-031 to this proceeding.

4. The August 17, 2001 proposals of PG&E, SDG&E, and Edison to implement real-time pricing are moved from A.00-11-038 et. al. for consideration in this proceeding.

5. The Executive Director shall cause this Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR) to be served on Respondents, the California Energy Commission, the California Power Authority and the parties to the following existing Commission proceedings: Application (A.) 00-11-038 et al., R.00-10-002, R.01-10-024, and R.94-04-031.

6. Within 15 days from the date of mailing of this order, any person or representative of an entity interested in monitoring or participating in this rulemaking should send a letter to the Commission's Process Office, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California 94102, or ALJ_Process@cpuc.ca.gov asking that his or her name be placed on the service list. Parties shall also appear at the first prehearing conference (PHC) in order to enter an appearance in the proceeding.

7. The category of this rulemaking is preliminarily determined to be "ratesetting" as that term is defined in Rule 5(c) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure.

8. Any person who objects to the preliminary categorization of this rulemaking shall raise such objection no later than 10 calendar days after the Commission issues this OIR.

9. Those who wish to file comments on the issues identified in this OIR shall file and serve their initial comments as part of their pre-hearing conference statements by June 7, 2002. Subsequent comments and/or testimony shall be filed in accordance with the schedule developed at the first PHC, or in a subsequent ruling, as applicable.

10. All parties shall abide by the Electronic Service Protocols attached as Appendix A hereto.

11. The first PHC shall be held on May 30, 2002, at 10:00 a.m. in the Commission's Courtroom, State Office Building, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco.

12. The scope and schedule set forth in this order may be modified by the assigned Commissioner or Administrative Law Judge, as necessary.

13. Commissioner Michael R. Peevey is designated as the assigned Commissioner for this proceeding.

This order is effective today.

Dated , at San Francisco, California.

APPENDIX A

ELECTRONIC SERVICE PROTOCOLS

(Page 1)

Party Status in Commission Proceedings

These electronic service protocols are applicable to all "appearances, interested parties," And other members of the service list. In accordance with Commission practice, by entering an appearance at a prehearing conference or by other appropriate means, an interested party or protestant gains "party" status. A party to a Commission proceeding has certain rights that non-parties (those in "state service" and "information only" service categories) do not have. For example, a party has the right to participate in evidentiary hearings, file comments on a proposed decision, and appeal a final decision. A party also has the ability to consent to waive or reduce a comment period, and to challenge the assignment of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Non-parties do not have these rights, even though they are included on the service list for the proceeding and receive copies of some or all documents.

Service of Documents by Electronic Mail

For the purposes of this proceeding, all appearances shall serve documents by electronic mail, and in turn, shall accept service by electronic mail.

Usual Commission practice requires appearances to serve documents not only on all other appearances but also on all non-parties in the state service category of the service list. For the purposes of this proceeding, appearances shall serve the information only category electronically as well since electronic service minimizes the financial burden that broader service might otherwise entail.

Filing of Documents

These electronic service protocols govern service of documents only, and do not change the rules regarding the tendering of documents for filing. Documents for filing must be tendered in paper form, as described in Rule 2, et seq., of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure. Moreover, all filings shall be served in hard copy (as well as e-mail) on the assigned Commissioner's office and the assigned ALJ. All e-mails shall be sent by 5:00 pm on the due date.

APPENDIX A

ELECTRONIC SERVICE PROTOCOLS

(Page 2)

Electronic Service Standards

As an aid to review of documents served electronically, appearances should follow these procedures:

· Merge into a single electronic file the entire document to be served (e.g. title page, table of contents, text, attachments, service list).

· Attach the document file to an electronic note.

· In the subject line of the note, identify the proceeding number; the party sending the document; and the abbreviated title of the document.

· Within the body of the note, identify the word processing program used to create the document. (Commission experience indicates that most recipients can open readily documents sent in Microsoft Word or PDF formats).

If the electronic mail is returned to the sender, or the recipient informs the sender of an inability to open the document, the sender shall immediately arrange for alternative service (paper mail shall be the default, unless another means is mutually agreed upon).

Obtaining Up-to-Date Electronic Mail Addresses

The current service lists for active proceedings are available on the Commission's web page, www.cpuc.ca.gov. To obtain an up-to-date service list of e-mail addresses:

· Choose "Proceedings" then "Service Lists."

· Scroll through the "Index of Service Lists" to the number for this proceeding.

· To view and copy the electronic addresses for a service list, download the comma-delimited file, and copy the column containing the electronic addresses.

APPENDIX A

ELECTRONIC SERVICE PROTOCOLS

(Page 3)

The Commission's Process Office periodically updates service lists to correct errors or to make changes at the request of parties and non-parties on the list. Appearances should copy the current service list from the web page (or obtain paper copy from the Process Office) before serving a document.

Pagination Discrepancies in Documents Served Electronically

Differences among word-processing software can cause pagination differences between documents served electronically and print outs of the original. (If documents are served electronically in PDF format, these differences do not occur.) For the purposes of reference and/or citation in cross-examination and briefing, all parties should use the pagination found in the original document.

(END OF APPENDIX A)