9. Ex Parte Communications

In accordance with Rule 8.2, ex parte communications8 in this proceeding are allowed without restriction or reporting requirement.

1. The Commission's Business & Community Outreach staff reports an increasing number of small businesses are reporting that energy utilities are adjusting their bills after discovery of metering or billing errors made by the utilities which is resulting in economic hardship.

2. Small businesses are expected to drive job growth and economic turnaround.

The Commission should initiate a new rulemaking to consider treating micro-businesses and residential customers the same for purposes of energy utility tariffs related to deposits and adjusting bills.

ORDER

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that:

1. A rulemaking on the Commission's own motion is instituted to determine whether any revisions and/or updates are necessary to utility tariff rules governing adjustments of customer bills due to meter and/or billing errors and whether utility deposit rules need to be revised for micro-business customers.

2. Alpine Natural Gas Operating Company, Golden State Water Company, Mountain Utilities, PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Sierra Pacific Power Company, Southern California Edison Company, Southern California Gas Company, Southwest Gas Company, and West Coast Gas Company are made respondents to this proceeding.

3. The Executive Director shall cause this Order Instituting Rulemaking to be served on the respondents and on the associations and chambers of commerce in Attachment A.

4. Within 20 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 electronically to process_office@cpuc.ca.gov, asking that his or her name be placed on the service list for this rulemaking.

5. The category of this rulemaking is preliminarily determined to be "quasi-legislative." Any persons objecting to the preliminary categorization of this rulemaking as "quasi-legislative" or to the preliminary determination that evidentiary hearings are not necessary shall state their objections in their opening comments on this rulemaking as more fully set forth in Sections 4 and 5 above.

6. Opening comments on the matters set forth in Sections 3 and 4 must be filed by June 7, 2010 and reply comments by June 21, 2010.

7. The Commission's Business & Community Outreach branch will hold a workshop to discuss the revisions to the rules on July 6, 2010, unless a different date is specified in a ruling of the assigned Administrative Law Judge. The Workshop Notice will be issued at least 10 days prior to the date the workshop is held.

8. The assigned Administrative Law Judge shall conduct proceedings in this rulemaking to effect the Commission's policy and direction as set forth herein; in that capacity the assigned Administrative Law Judge, in consultation with the assigned Commissioner, may make any adjustments to the schedule and service list for this proceeding.

9. Any party that expects to request intervenor compensation for its participation in this rulemaking shall file its notice of intent to claim intervenor compensation in accordance with Rule 17.1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, with 30 days of the mailing of this Rulemaking.

This order is effective today.

Dated May 6, 2010, at San Francisco, California.

R1005005 Attachment A

8 An ex parte communication is defined in Rule 8.1(c) as:

... a written communication (including a communication by letter or electronic medium) or oral communication (including a communication by telephone or in person) that:

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