ALJ/KLM/hl2 Mailed 7/13/2007
Decision 07-07-012 July 12, 2007
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Order Instituting Rulemaking to Implement Portions of AB 117 Concerning Community Choice Aggregation. |
Rulemaking 03-10-003 (Filed October 2, 2003) |
OPINION GRANTING INTERVENOR COMPENSATION
TO COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL FOR SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO DECISION 05-12-041
This decision awards Community Environmental Council (CEC) $8,705.68 in compensation for its substantial contributions to Decision (D.) 05-12-041. The award is less than CEC requested to reflect reduced hourly rates and a reduction in the hours of work claimed. This proceeding is closed.
Background
The Commission opened this rulemaking to implement provisions of Assembly Bill (AB) 117. AB 117 permits local governments to purchase energy on behalf of local customers acting as community choice aggregators (CCAs). CCAs are governmental entities formed by cities and counties to serve the energy needs of their homes and businesses.
In addition to authorizing the creation of CCAs, AB 117 describes essential program elements, requires the state's utilities to provide certain services to CCAs, and establishes methods to protect existing utility customers from liabilities they might otherwise incur when a portion of the utility's customers transfer their energy services to a CCA. Cities and counties have become increasingly involved in implementing energy efficiency programs, advocating for their communities in power plant and transmission line siting cases, and developing distributed generation and renewable resource energy supplies. The CCA program takes these efforts one step further by enabling communities to purchase power on behalf of the community.
D.04-12-046, which addressed Phase I of this proceeding, implemented certain portions of AB 117. D.04-12-046 adopted an interim cost recovery surcharge (CRS), a method for calculating CRS, and addressed a variety of cost issues. Phase II of this proceeding resolved issues relating to the accounting of the respective liabilities of utilities and CCAs for utility power purchases, details of utility services to CCAs, and other implementation issues. We issued
D.05-12-041 at the conclusion of Phase II.
On February 14, 2006, CEC filed a $54,874.00 request for compensation for its participation in Phase I and Phase II. We addressed CEC's request in
D.06-05-037. In that decision, we approved a reduced award, $39,534.85, based on CEC's level of efficiency and adjustments to CEC's requested hourly rates. CEC filed an amended request for compensation on December 27, 2006.1 We address the merits of CEC's request in this decision.
This proceeding is closed.
1 The Commission's Docket Office modified the title of CEC's pleading from Second Request of the Community Environmental Council for an Award of Compensation for Substantial Contribution in D.05-12-041 and R.03-10-003 to Amended Request of the Community Environmental Council for an Award of Compensation for Substantial Contribution in D.05-12-041 and R.03-10-003.
