ALJ/KOT/t94/t93 Mailed 7/13/2001

Decision 01-07-026 July 12, 2001

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Rulemaking for purposes of revising General Order 96-A regarding informal filings at the Commission.

Rulemaking 98-07-038 (Filed July 23, 1998)

INTERIM OPINION ADOPTING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS

FOR PUBLISHING AND PROVIDING SERVICE UNDER TARIFFS

1.  Summary

In today's decision, we adopt a small but crucial part of the previously proposed revisions to General Order (GO) 96-A, which comprehensively governs utility tariffs (including their content, form, publication, and means by which they are amended). The rule revisions adopted today (which will eventually be codified in GO 96-B) are set forth in the Appendix; they chiefly concern (1) use of the Internet to publish tariffs, and (2) representations made by a utility (in advertising or otherwise) regarding any tariffed service of that utility. These rule revisions complement other efforts at the Commission to protect consumers and to ensure that consumers can exercise informed choices among increasingly complex and competitive utility services. (See, e.g., Rulemaking (R.) 00-02-004, in which we are establishing consumer rights and consumer protections applicable to all telecommunications utilities.)

Adoption and implementation of these rule revisions need not await adoption of GO 96-B as a whole, and we have concluded, in light of the long lead time some utilities will need to comply with the Internet publication requirement, and still more in light of the important consumer protection principles at stake, that immediate adoption is appropriate.