2. Requirements for Awards of Compensation
The intervenor compensation program, which is set forth at §§ 1801-1812 of the Public Utilities Code, requires California jurisdictional utilities to pay the reasonable costs of a qualifying intervenor's participation in a Commission proceeding if the intervenor makes a substantial contribution to the proceeding. The statute also provides that the utility may adjust its rates to collect the amount awarded from its ratepayers.2
All of the following procedures and criteria must be satisfied before an intervenor may obtain a compensation award:
1. The intervenor must satisfy certain procedural requirements, including the filing of a sufficient notice of intent (NOI) to claim compensation within 30 days of the prehearing conference (or in special circumstances, at other appropriate times that the Commission specifies). (§ 1804(a).)
2. The intervenor must be a customer or a participant representing consumers, customers, or subscribers of a utility subject to Commission jurisdiction. (§ 1802(b).)
3. The intervenor must file and serve a request for a compensation award within 60 days of the final order or decision in a Commission hearing or proceeding. (§ 1804(c).)
4. The intervenor must demonstrate "significant financial hardship." (§§ 1802(g), 1804(b)(1).)
5. The intervenor's presentation must have made a "substantial contribution" to the proceeding, through the adoption, in whole or in part, of the intervenor's contentions or recommendations in a Commission order or decision. (§§ 1802(i), 1803(a).)
6. The claimed fees and costs must be reasonable (§ 1801), necessary for and related to the intervenor's substantial contribution (D.98-04-059), comparable to the market rates paid to others with comparable training and experience (§ 1806), and productive (D.98-04-059).
2 Subsequent statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code unless otherwise indicated.
