3. Procedural Issues
Prehearing conferences were held in these proceedings on January 14 and February 4, 2005. Pursuant to Pub. Util. Code § 1804(a), both TURN and AECA filed timely NOIs on February 14, 2005.
D.05-06-016 concluded that TURN's NOI met all of the requirements of § 1804(a).3 First, TURN had presented a full statement of the nature of its planned participation on behalf of residential ratepayers, along with a budget for its participation. Second, TURN noted that on July 27, 2004, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruling had been issued in Rulemaking (R.) 04-04-003 which concluded that TURN had met the burden of demonstrating financial hardship. Under Pub. Util. Code § 1804(b)(1), such a finding creates "a rebuttable presumption of eligibility for compensation in other commission proceedings commencing within one year" of the finding. Since these proceedings were commenced less than a year after the July 27, 2004 ruling, the rebuttable presumption applied to TURN. (Mimeo. at 34.)
D.05-06-016 also concluded that AECA had satisfied § 1804(a)'s requirements about the nature of and budget for AECA's participation in the proceeding, but noted that a significant additional showing would be required before a finding of significant financial hardship could be made. In particular, D.05-06-016 noted that AECA had not provided enough information about the extent of "the role water districts and agricultural associations play in determining AECA's affairs," and that without such information, a finding could not be made that AECA was authorized to represent small customers who would otherwise be underrepresented. The discussion of AECA's NOI closed by noting that the Commission "look[ed] forward to reviewing all of the material [on financial hardship] that AECA has represented will be in its compensation request." (Id. at 35-36.)
D.05-06-016 was issued on June 16, 2005. TURN filed its request for compensation in this proceeding on August 15, 2005, within the 60-day period specified in Pub. Util. Code § 1804(c). Thus, TURN's request for compensation is timely.
Although AECA's request for compensation was postmarked August 15, 2005 (and was also e-mailed to the service list on that date), it was not received in the Commission's Docket Office until a few days later. On August 24, 2005, AECA filed a motion requesting that its request for compensation be accepted for late filing. In view of the fact that AECA's request was both mailed and e-mailed on August 15, even though it did not arrive at the Docket Office until after that date, we will grant the motion.
3 Under § 1804(a), a party intending to seek compensation for its participation in a proceeding must include in its NOI (1) a showing that it is a customer or represents customers, (2) a statement of the nature and extent of the party's planned participation in the proceeding, and (3) an itemized estimate of the compensation the party expects to request, given the likely duration of the proceeding. In addition, the party may include a showing in the NOI that its participation in the proceeding would represent a significant financial hardship, but that showing may also be deferred until a compensation request is filed.
