Significant Financial Hardship
An intervenor seeking compensation must show that, without undue hardship, it cannot pay the reasonable costs of effective participation in the proceeding. A participant representing consumers (Category 1) or a representative authorized by a customer (Category 2) must disclose their finances to the Commission, under appropriate protective order to make this showing. In the case of groups or organizations (Category 3), significant financial hardship is demonstrated by showing that the economic interest of individual members is small compared to the overall costs of effective participation. (Pub. Util. Code § 1802(g).)
Section 1804(b) states that a finding of significant financial hardship shall create a rebuttable presumption of eligibility for compensation in other Commission proceedings commencing within one year of the date of that finding. This proceeding commenced on February 27, 2003 and Greenlining's petition was filed in October 2002. In D.02-02-024, 2002 Cal. PUC LEXIS 25 *7, we found Greenlining had made a showing of significant financial hardship under § 1802(g). Because that decision was issued within a year of the commencement of the instant rulemaking, this finding of significant financial hardship creates a rebuttable presumption of eligibility for compensation in this proceeding. No party has rebutted this presumption, so we find that the finding of significant financial hardship continues to exist for this proceeding.4
4 At least the past two years of Commission decisions addressing Greenlining's showing of significant financial hardship have permitted Greenlining to establish a rebuttable presumption by referring to a prior decision where the financial eligibility finding also relies on a rebuttable presumption, etc. Because we have done so in the past, we follow this approach in this decision. However, in the future, if Greenlining seeks to establish a rebuttable presumption of a significant financial hardship by referring to a finding of significant financial hardship made within the past year (see § 1804 (b)), the earlier finding must be based on actual financial information and not on a rebuttable presumption. In this way, intervenors' financial information will be updated with the Commission annually.
