II. Background

On February 27, 2003, we issued an OII initiating I.03-02-033 to evaluate the business activities of the respondent utilities, SDG&E and SoCal Gas, and their holding company, Sempra Energy (Sempra), to ensure that they have complied with relevant statutes and Commission decisions and rules in the management, oversight, and operations of their companies. The OII consolidated this Sempra affiliate investigation with I.02-11-040 examining market activities of California's regulated gas utilities and their impact on gas price spikes at the California border from March 2000 through May 2001.

SDG&E and SoCal Gas filed a petition to modify the OII on March 12, 2003. Southern California Edison Company (SCE) filed a response to the petition, and Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN) filed a motion requesting the late filing of its response to the petition, with its response attached to the motion. UCAN's motion is hereby granted. SDG&E and SoCal Gas replied to SCE's response on April 4, 2003.

During a prehearing conference (PHC) held on May 29, 2003, issues raised by the petition and the related filings were discussed along with other matters regarding the Sempra affiliate investigation.