ALJ/JJJ/tcg DRAFT 1

2/22/01

Decision DRAFT DECISION OF ALJ ECONOME (Mailed 1/23/2001)

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Order Instituting Investigation into the operations and practices of the Southern California Gas Company, concerning the accuracy of information supplied to the Commission in connection with its Montebello Gas Storage Facility.

Investigation 99-04-022 (Filed April 22, 1999)

OPINION ON PETITION FOR MODIFICATION

1. Summary

The principal issue raised by the Consumer Services Division's (CSD) Petition for Modification of Decision (D.) 00-09-034 is whether the notice sent by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) to prior Montebello mineral owners offering to return mineral rights that SoCalGas had acquired from them (offer of rescission) complies with D.00-09-034. The notice, mailed on November 22, 2000, requires the prior mineral owners to sign a general release with respect to SoCalGas' acquisition of mineral rights to obtain rescission. CSD believes that SoCalGas' notice does not comply with D.00-09-034 because, according to CSD, that decision modified the settlement agreement's provision requiring the prior owners to sign a general release before obtaining rescission. SoCalGas disagrees, and believes that the Commission adopted the settlement agreement without modifying the requirement for a general release.

Because SoCalGas' notice requires landowners to respond thereto within 120 days of the notice's mailing (i.e., by March 22, 2001), CSD requested and the Commission granted an expedited briefing schedule and resolution of this petition.

We deny CSD's petition for modification and clarify that, in D.00-09-034, we did not modify the SoCalGas/CSD settlement agreement to remove the requirement that the prior mineral rights owners (landowners) sign an appropriate general release if they elect to obtain rescission pursuant to the terms of the settlement.