IV. NOTICE OF RATE INCREASE TO UTILITY CUSTOMERS

TURN next claims that the Commission adopted the three cent per kWh without first providing notice to the utilities' customers, in violation of Public Utilities Code section 454. The relevant portion of section 454 provides:

454 (a) ...Whenever any electrical, gas, heat, telephone, water, or sewer system corporation files an application to change any rate, other than a change reflecting and passing through to customers only new costs to the corporation which do not result in changes in revenue allocation, for the services or commodities furnished by it, the corporation shall furnish to its customers affected by the proposed rate change notice of its application to the commission for approval of the new rate. ...The notice shall state the amount of the proposed rate changed expressed in both dollar and percentage terms for the entire rate change as well as for each customer classification. ...

TURN states that the Utilities sent notices to their customers describing the relief sought in their applications that, if granted in full, would have yielded a maximum cumulative rate increase of three cents per kWh, including the one cent adopted in D.01-01-018. According to TURN, the cumulative rate increase of four cents per kWh adopted in the Accounting Decision exceeds the level of potential rate increase noticed in customers' bills.

In response, Edison argues that it did comply with section 454 by sending its customers a special mailing providing them notice of its Application. Edison also argues that nothing in section 454 limits the Commission's authority to authorize a rate increase in excess of what Edison noticed.

We find TURN's argument without merit. Section 454 requires the Utilities to provide notice of what rate increases they are applying for, not necessarily what the Commission will do. The notices sent out informed customers that the Utilities sought an immediate rate relief of approximately 30 percent , but that under the trigger mechanism it could go much higher. As explained above, the total relief requested could actually have been as high as 40 percent for PG&E customers and 76 percent for Edison customers. The relief granted was within the overall range of relief requested by the Utilities. Accordingly, we find that utility customers did receive adequate and sufficient notice of the Utilities' application for a rate increase.