Assignment of Proceeding
Henry M. Duque is the Assigned Commissioner and ALJ Mattson is the assigned ALJ in this proceeding.
1. TURN, GL/LIF, and PA have previously been found eligible for compensation in this proceeding in an ALJ Ruling dated April 1, 1999.
2. TURN, GL/LIF, and PA have demonstrated significant financial hardship in this proceeding.
3. TURN, GL/LIF, and PA have made timely requests for compensation for contributions to D.00-03-021.
4. TURN, GL/LIF, and PA all made substantial contributions to D.00-03-021.
5. Pub. Util. Code § 1803 requires that the commission award reasonable costs of participation in commission proceedings to customers who make a substantial contribution and for whom participation imposes a financial hardship.
6. Section 1801.3 does not permit application of a duplication discount or penalty to reduce the award of compensation to a customer that has made a substantial contribution.
7. The hourly rates requested by TURN for work performed by attorneys and consultants are consistent with the intent of Pub. Util. Code § 1806 that intervenor compensation awards shall take into consideration the market rates paid to persons of comparable training and experience who offer similar services. The hours billed by TURN are generally reasonable and are fully compensable.
8. The format of the information presented in the GL/LIF Request did not facilitate determination of the reasonableness of hours and fees claimed. This caused delay in the issuance of this decision. The hours claimed for work by attorneys and staff in the Request, Exhibit D, appear generally reasonable and we will compensate for those hours.
9. The hours claimed by GL/LIF for Witteman appear generally reasonable and fully compensable with the exception of 9.9 hours expended on travel and fee petition preparation. These 9.9 should have been billed at half Witteman's hourly rate, and we will compensate at that rate.
10. We find the previously adopted rates for Brown and Gnaizda reasonable and will utilize them here. Based upon his experience and qualifications a $200 per hour rate for Witteman in 1999 and 2000 is reasonable. A rate of $135 per hour is reasonable for work performed by staff member Gonzales, and is consistent with the rate previously adopted for Gamboa. A paralegal rate of $75 per hour is reasonable and consistent with D.00-04-011.
11. The format of the information presented by PA in its Request did not facilitate a determination of the reasonableness of hours and fees claimed. This caused delay in the issuance of this decision. Time spent on travel and fee petition preparation is not clearly identified and is incorrectly billed at full hourly rates. We have identified 20.8 hours of Savage's time that should have been billed at one half his hourly rate, and we will compensate it at that rate. The remainder of the hours billed appear generally reasonable and fully compensable.
12. With the exception of the hourly rate for expert Hargadon, the hourly rates proposed by PA are not consistent with prior Commission decisions. The hourly rate claimed for Hargadon is reasonable in this proceeding. The hourly rates previously adopted for Savage are reasonable and we will use them here. An hourly rate of $185 is reasonable for Affeldt in 1999 and 2000, and is consistent with the rate in D.00-02-044. Based upon her experience and qualifications the following hourly rates are reasonable for Andrade: 1998 -$150; 1999- $160; 2000 - $170. A paralegal rate of $75 per hour is consistent with D.00-04-011.
13. The miscellaneous other costs incurred by TURN in this proceeding are reasonable and fully compensable.
14. The miscellaneous other costs claimed by GL/LIF are reasonable and fully compensable, with the following exceptions. The following costs are disallowed because they are not adequately explained and documented, and do not appear reasonably incurred in this proceeding: expenses for airfare and travel totaling $1,550.11; a discrepancy of $70.13 in the Errata.
15. The miscellaneous other costs claimed by PA are reasonable and fully compensable, with the following exceptions. The following costs are disallowed because they are not adequately explained and documented, and do not appear reasonably incurred in this proceeding: expenses for airfare and travel totaling $1,881.91.
16. O'Connor and Brand, for whom PA seeks reimbursement of travel expenses, signed the CCA on behalf of Alliance for Public Technology and Universal Services Alliance. Neither organization has been found eligible for nor sought intervenor compensation in this proceeding. It appears that PA inappropriately seeks compensation for their expenses through the intervenor compensation program. The travel costs for O'Connor and Brand should be disallowed.
1. The motion of GL/LIF for leave to late-file a Reply to the Response of PA should be granted.
2. TURN, GL/LIF, and PA have fulfilled the requirements of §§ 1801-1812 of the Pub. Util. Code, which govern awards of intervenor compensation.
3. TURN should be awarded $146,113.66 for its contributions to D.00-03-021.
4. GL/LIF should be awarded $268,108.93 for its contributions to D.00-03-021.
5. PA should be awarded $279,740.33 for its contributions to D.00-03-021.
6. D.88-12-085, D.91-12-055, D.93-06-022,D.96-06-029 and D.98-04-059 are over-ruled to the extend described in Section 6 of this Decision.
7. There is no statutory basis for applying a duplication penalty to reduce a compensation award for an eligible participant who makes a substantial contribution to adoption of a commission decision.
8. This revised decision replaces in its entirety D.01-09-045.
9. This order should be effective today so that intervenors may be compensated without unnecessary delay.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The motion of The Greenlining Institute and Latino Issues Forum (GL/LIF) for leave to late-file a Reply to the Response of Public Advocates (PA) is granted.
2. The Utility Reform Network (TURN) is awarded $146,113.66 in compensation for substantial contributions to Decision (D.) 00-03-021.
3. GL/LIF is awarded $268,108.93 in compensation for substantial contributions to D.00-03-021.
4. PA is awarded $279,740.33 in compensation for substantial contributions to D.00-03-021.
5. GTE Corporation (GTE) and Bell Atlantic Corporation (Bell Atlantic) shall pay TURN, GL/LIF, and PA any unpaid amounts associated with contribution to D.00-03-021 within 30 days of the effective date of this order. GTE and Bell Atlantic shall also pay to TURN, GL/LIF, and PA interest on the award of each at the rate earned on prime, three-month commercial paper, as reported in Federal
Reserve Statistical Release G.13, or H.15, as appropriate, beginning July 19, 2000, and continuing until full payment is made.
6. This proceeding is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated , at San Francisco, California.
