BACKGROUND
SoCalGas' base rate PBR was adopted by the Commission in D.97-07-054. This PBR establishes the method by which the company's authorized base rate revenue requirement is calculated. It also sets forth performance standards related to SoCalGas' customer satisfaction, service quality, and employee safety, with associated financial incentives in the event those standards are exceeded or not met by the utility.
D. 97-07-054 requires SoCalGas to file an annual advice letter, which summarizes the prior calendar year PBR performance on July 10th each year. The annual advice letter reports any shareable earnings, which may have been achieved if SoCalGas' actual rate of return (ROR) exceeds its authorized ROR. D. 97-07-054 established a shareholder/ratepayer sharing structure which determines the allocation of earnings between shareholders and ratepayers associated with performance in excess of SoCalGas' authorized ROR. When SoCalGas does not meet its authorized ROR, ratepayers do not share in the loss. AL 2938 was filed on July 10, 2000 and 2938-A on September 15, 2000 to detail the results of SoCalGas performance under the base rate PBR for 1999. This is the second such performance report by SoCalGas under its PBR.
Besides reporting the shareable earnings calculations, the annual advice letter also reports SoCalGas' adjustment for actual 1999 customer count, its report on its performance under its service quality, customer satisfaction, and safety incentives, and the results of its core pricing flexibility program activity.
