3. Procedural Background

SCE filed this application for a permit to construct the Red Bluff substation project on November 17, 2010.

The Division of Ratepayer Advocates protested the application, asserting that, pursuant to General Order (GO) 131-D, the requisite authority is a certificate of public convenience and necessary, which would require the Commission to find that the project serves a present or future convenience or necessity pursuant to Pub. Util. Code § 1001 and to establish a cost cap for the project pursuant to Pub. Util. Code § 1005.5.

After the conduct of a prehearing conference on February 10, 2011, the assigned Commissioner issued a scoping memo and ruling on February 25, 2011, determining that the requisite authority to construct the Red Bluff substation project is a permit to construct, identifying the issues to be determined by the Commission in resolving the proceeding, and setting a schedule for addressing those issues.

In accordance with the scoping memo and ruling, SCE served prepared direct testimony on March 14, 2011. No party submitted any prepared rebuttal testimony or requested to cross-examine any of SCE's witnesses. Accordingly, the evidentiary hearing was removed from calendar, and SCE filed a motion to admit its prepared testimony pursuant to Rule 13.8. No party opposed the motion. The prepared testimony is hereby admitted into the evidentiary record as Exhibit 2.