8. Comments on Proposed Decision

The proposed decision of the ALJ in this matter was mailed to the parties in accordance with Section 311 of the Public Utilities Code and comments were allowed under Rule 14.3 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure. Joint Applicants and DRA filed comments on October 4, 2010 and Joint Applicants filed reply comments on October 11, 2010.

Joint Applicants agree to comply with each of the three conditions on the transfer that the proposed decision recommends. Joint Applicants also suggest several minor modifications to the decision text, findings, conclusions, and ordering paragraphs to provide further clarity, or in a few instances, to make corrections. The suggestions are well taken and we revise the proposed decision accordingly.

DRA opposes the proposed decision and reiterates the major arguments in its briefs. DRA's contentions do not establish factual or legal error, however. DRA proposes that the Commission impose one, additional condition on the transfer by requiring that Sierra take back the California Utility if CalPeco is unable to fulfill the other conditions. This proposal goes beyond the scope of comments recognized by Rule 14.3(c). Since we have no record upon which to evaluate the proposal, we accord it no weight.

We make other, minor revisions to the proposed decision to correct typographical errors. To cure an inadvertent omission and support the relevant ordering paragraph, we include a brief discussion of the reason the transfer does not require review under CEQA, together with an associated finding and conclusion.