3. Procedural Background
PG&E filed A.07-12-021 on December 21, 2007. Notice of A.07-12-021 appeared in the Commission's Daily Calendar on December 26, 2008. The following parties filed a protest or response: Aglet Consumer Alliance and L. Jan Reid; Alliance for Retail Energy Markets; CAlifornians for Renewable Energy (CARE); California Municipal Utilities Association; Energy Producers and Users Coalition; Independent Energy Producers Association; GTN; Kern River Gas Transportation Company; PPM Energy; Questar Overthrust Pipeline Company and Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company; Ruby LLC; School Project for Utility Rate Reduction; Sierra Pacific Power Company; The Utility Reform Network (TURN); Western Power trading Forum; and Williams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (Williams).
PG&E filed an amendment to its application on February 1, 2008. The most significant revision was to remove the condition in the Precedent Agreement that allowed Ruby LLC to cancel the development of the pipeline in the event the estimated cost of the pipeline exceeded $2.2 billion.2 PG&E also made the Precedent Agreement public at that time. CARE filed a response to the amendment and GTN filed a protest. There were no other responses or protests to the amendment.
A prehearing conference (PHC) was held on February 29, 2008. In addition to the previously listed parties, the following entities were granted party status at the PHC or by a ruling issued by the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ): Anadarko Petroleum Corporation; Clearwater Port LLC; the Commission's Division of Ratepayer Advocates (DRA); El Paso; Lodi Gas Storage, LLC; Iberdrola Renewables; Merced Irrigation District and Modesto Irrigation District; Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) and San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E); and the Wyoming Pipeline Authority.
The Assigned Commissioner's Ruling and Scoping Memo (Scoping Memo) was issued on March 18, 2008. The Scoping Memo established the scope and schedule for the proceeding, determined there was a need for evidentiary hearings, and addressed other procedural matters. Seven days of hearings were held during the period of June 24 through July 2, 2008. Opening briefs were filed on July 14, 2008, and reply briefs were filed on July 23, 2008. An oral argument was held before a quorum of Commissioners on October 27, 2008, after the proposed decision was issued. The case was submitted at the conclusion of the oral argument.
2 The estimate cost eventually reached $3 billion.
