2. Requirements for Awards of Compensation

The intervenor compensation program, set forth in Pub. Util. Code
§§ 1801-1812,² requires California jurisdictional utilities to pay the reasonable costs of an intervenor's participation if that party makes a substantial contribution to the Commission's proceedings. The statute provides that the utility may adjust its rates to collect the amount awarded from its ratepayers.

All of the following procedures and criteria must be satisfied for an intervenor to 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 (PHC), pursuant to Rule 17.1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules), or at another appropriate time that we specify. (§ 1804(a).)

2. The intervenor must be a customer or a participant representing consumers, customers, or subscribers of a utility subject to our jurisdiction. (§ 1802(b).)

3. The intervenor must file and serve a request for a compensation award within 60 days of our final order or decision in a hearing or proceeding. (§ 1804(c).)

4. The intervenor must demonstrate "significant financial hardship." (§§ 1802(g) and 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 contention or recommendations by a Commission order or decision or as otherwise found by the Commission. (§§ 1802(i) and 1803(a).)

6. The claimed fees and costs must be reasonable (§ 1801), necessary for and related to the 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).

In the discussion below, the procedural issues in Items 1-4 above are combined and a separate discussion of Items 5-6 follows.

2.1. Preliminary Procedural Issues

Under § 1804(a)(1) and Rule 17.1(a)(1), a customer who intends to seek an award of intervenor compensation must file an NOI before certain dates.

In a proceeding in which a PHC is held, the intervenor must file and serve its NOI between the dates the proceeding was initiated, until 30 days after the PHC is held. (Rule 17.1(a)(1).) In a ruling of November 16, 2006, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) set a telephonic PHC for December 14, 2006. UCAN timely filed its NOI on January 12, 2007.

UCAN opted to make its showing of significant financial hardship in its NOI pursuant to Section 1804 (a)(2)(B), which states that:

The notice of intent may also include a showing by the customer that participation in the hearing or proceeding would pose a significant financial hardship. Alternatively, such a showing shall be included in the request submitted pursuant to subdivision (c).

A finding of significant financial hardship for UCAN was made in a ruling issued by ALJ Bushey in Case 05-07-022 dated May 31, 2006. This proceeding commenced within one year of the date of ALJ Bushey's finding, so the rebuttable presumption was applied to this complaint.

No party challenged UCAN's eligibility for compensation in this proceeding, so UCAN's eligibility was conclusive.

Section 1802(b)(1) defines a "customer" as: (A) a participant representing consumers, customers or subscribers of a utility; (B) a representative who has been authorized by a customer; or (C) a representative of a group or organization authorized pursuant to its articles of incorporation or bylaws to represent the interests of residential or small business customers. (§ 1802(b)(1)(A) through (C).) On February 9, 2007, the ALJ issued a ruling that found UCAN a customer pursuant to § 1802(b)(1)(B).

Regarding the timeliness of the request for compensation, UCAN filed its request for compensation on May 8, 2008, within 60 days of D.08-03-015 being issued. No party opposed the request. In view of the above, we affirm the ALJ's ruling and find that UCAN has satisfied all the procedural requirements necessary to make its request for compensation in this proceeding.

² All subsequent statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code unless otherwise indicated.