III. Procedural Issues

No PHC was held in this proceeding, nor was any time specified for filing NOIs. CNUC filed its NOI on June 28, 2003, which we deem timely under these circumstances. The NOI was rejected by Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Brown, however, on grounds that it failed to show that CNUC meets the definition of a "customer" and failed to meet the financial hardship test. CNUC was given 30 days to supplement its NOI to correct the deficiencies and to explain what significant contribution it intended to provide that was not duplicative of presentations by other participants. CNUC filed a supplemental pleading, and by subsequent ruling it was deemed to be a "participant representing consumers," and thus a Category 1 customer under § 1802(b) for purposes of this proceeding. It became eligible to file for an award of intervenor compensation, subject to a showing of significant financial hardship in its request for compensation. CNUC filed its request for compensation on March 8, 2005, within 60 days of D.05-01-030 being issued. No party has opposed this request for compensation. CNUC asserted financial hardship in documents filed under seal with its request for compensation.

An intervenor seeking compensation must show that, without undue hardship, it cannot pay the reasonable costs of effective participation in the proceeding. A participant representing consumers (Category 1) must disclose its gross and net monthly income, monthly expenses, cash and assets, including equity in real estate, to make this showing. CNUC has submitted under seal statements showing its partners' income, net worth and expenses. The finances of the two partners of CNUC, as revealed in the sealed documents, meet the standard for showing financial hardship.

CNUC has satisfied all of the procedural requirements necessary to make the request for compensation.