Procedural Ground Rules

The ground rules set forth in Appendix C are intended to promote fair and orderly hearings and efficient use of hearing time, and are hereby adopted for this proceeding.

IT IS RULED that:

1. The scope of this proceeding is as set forth in the foregoing discussion. Marginal costs, marginal cost revenue responsibility, revenue allocation and rate design shall be addressed in a separate application per legislative requirements of Public Utilities Code Section 1701.5.

2. The schedule for Phase 1 is set forth in Appendix A to this ruling.

3. A second Phase 1 prehearing conference (PHC) is scheduled for Monday, June 6, 2005 at 1:30 p.m. Evidentiary hearings for Phase 1 will begin at 9 a.m. on June 7, 2005. The PHC and evidentiary hearings will be held in the Commission Courtroom, State Office Building, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California.

4. Public participation hearings (PPHs) shall be held, as set forth in Appendix B to this ruling.

5. Southern California Edison Company (SCE) shall provide notice of the PPHs to its customers, not later than 10 days prior to the earliest PPH. Notices shall be provided either as an insert with a regular bill or may be mailed separately if necessary to reach customers at least 10 days before the first PPH.

6. The PPH notices shall be reviewed and approved by the Commission's Public Advisor's Office prior to mailing. Also, SCE shall provide to the Public Advisor's Office, not later than five days prior to the first PPH, a letter certifying that it has complied with the requirement of Paragraph 5 above. The compliance letter shall state the date(s) notices were sent to customers and the approximate number of customers so notified and attach one copy of the actual notice used.

7. For the purpose of Article 2.5, this ruling confirms that this proceeding is a ratesetting proceeding and that hearings are necessary.

8. Parties shall observe and comply with the applicable ex parte communications rules set forth in Rules 7 and 7.1 of the Commissions Rules of Practice and Procedure.

9. Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Fukutome is the principal hearing officer for this proceeding.

10. Any party requesting final oral argument before the Commission shall make such request by letter to the ALJ on the date set for filing of opening briefs.

11. Electronic service of documents shall conform to the Rules adopted in Decision 04-12-057.

Dated March 15, 2005, at San Francisco, California.

		/s/ GEOFFREY F. BROWN
		Geoffrey F. Brown Assigned Commissioner

APPENDIX A

PHASE 1 PROCEDURAL SCHEDULE

Event	Date
ORA testimony served	04/15/05
Intervenor testimony served	05/06/05
Public participation hearings begin	05/09/05
Public participation hearings end	05/19/05
Rebuttal testimony served*	05/25/05
Estimates of cross-examination time and proposed order of witnesses served	06/02/05
Second Prehearing conference	06/06/05
Evidentiary hearings begin	06/07/05
Evidentiary hearings end	07/19/05
Comparison exhibit	08/01/05
Opening briefs filed and served; Request for oral argument before the Commission submitted to ALJ	08/12/05
Reply briefs filed and served	09/02/05
Update materials served*	09/26/05
Update hearings begin	10/11/05
Update hearings end; projected submission date	10/14/05
Proposed decision issued	12/02/05
Comments on proposed decision filed and served	12/22/05
Reply comments on proposed decision filed and served	12/27/05
Final Commission decision	First January Meeting in 2006

(End of Appendix A)

APPENDIX B

PUBLIC PARTICPATION HEARINGS

May 9, 2005 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm	Rosemead, CA Garvey Community Center 9108 Garvey Avenue Rosemead, CA 91770
May 10, 2005 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm	Fullerton, CA The Chase Suite Hotel 2932 E. Nutwood Avenue, Royal Room Fullerton, CA 92831
May 11, 2005 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm	San Bernardino, CA San Bernardino Public Library Bing Wong Auditorium 555 West 6th Street San Bernardino, CA 92410
May 12, 2005 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm	Palm Springs, CA Palm Springs City Hall Council Chamber 3200 Tahquitz Canyon Way Palm Springs, CA 92263-2743
May 19, 2005 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm	Visalia, CA Visalia Convention Center Charter Oak Ballroom C 303 E. Acequia Avenue Visalia, CA 93291

(End of Appendix B)

APPENDIX C

PROCEDURAL GROUND RULES

Exhibit Format

See Rule 70 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure. Parties often fail to include a blank space two inches high by four inches wide to accommodate the ALJ's exhibit stamp. If necessary, add a cover sheet to the front of the exhibit. The common practice of pre-printing the docket number, a blank line for the exhibit number, and witness names(s) is acceptable, but it is not a substitute for the required two by four inch blank space to accommodate the exhibit stamp.

Exhibits should be bound on the left side or upper left-hand corner. Rubber bands and paper clips are unacceptable.

Excerpts from lengthy documents should include the title page and, if necessary for context, the table of contents of the document.

While Rule 2 permits a type size of no smaller than 10 points in filed documents, parties are asked to use a type face of no smaller than 12 points wherever practicable.

Exhibit Copies

See Rule 71. The original and one copy of each exhibit shall be furnished to the presiding officer and a copy shall be furnished to the reporter and to each party. The copy furnished to the presiding officer may be the mailed copy. Except for exhibits that are served prior to the hearing, parties are responsible for having sufficient copies available in the hearing room for the court reporter and each party in attendance.

Cross-Examination Exhibits

Allowing witnesses time to review new or unfamiliar documents can waste hearing time. The general rule is that a party who intends to introduce an exhibit in the course of cross-examination should provide a copy to the witness and the witness' counsel before the witness takes the stand on the day the exhibit is to be introduced. Documents in excess of two pages should be provided the day before. Generally, parties need not provide advance copies of documents to be used for impeachment or to obtain the witness' spontaneous reaction (although this practice is not encouraged).

Corrections

The practice of making extensive oral corrections to exhibits on the witness stand, requiring lengthy dictation exercises, causes delays. To the extent possible, corrections to testimony should be in the form of errata exhibits.

Hearing Hours

Hearings will generally run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. with two morning breaks and from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. with one afternoon break. Upon request, and if circumstances permit, hearings may run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Fridays.

Cross Examination Time

Parties are placed on notice that it may be necessary to limit and allocate cross-examination time as well as time for redirect and recross-examination.

Rebuttal Testimony

Prepared rebuttal testimony should include appropriate references to the testimony being rebutted. It is inappropriate, and a potential grounds for striking, for any party to hold back direct presentations for introduction in rebuttal testimony.

Court Reporters

Common courtesy should always be extended to the reporters. Counsel should wait for witnesses to finish their answers, and witnesses should likewise wait for the whole question to be asked before answering. Counsel shall refrain from simultaneous arguments on motions and objections. Conversations at the counsel table or in the audience can be distracting to the reporter and other participants. Such distractions should be avoided.

(End of Appendix C)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that I have by mail, and by electronic mail to the parties for whom an electronic mail address has been provided, this day served a true copy of the original attached Administrative Law Judge's Ruling Assigned Commissioner's Ruling Establishing Scope, Schedule, and Procedures for Proceeding on all parties of record in this proceeding or their attorneys of record.

Dated March 15, 2005, at San Francisco, California.

/s/ ELIZABETH LEWIS

Elizabeth Lewis

NOTICE

Parties should notify the Process Office, Public Utilities Commission, 505 Van Ness Avenue, Room 2000, San Francisco, CA 94102, of any change of address to insure that they continue to receive documents. You must indicate the proceeding number on the service list on which your name appears.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Commission's policy is to schedule hearings (meetings, workshops, etc.) in locations that are accessible to people with disabilities. To verify that a particular location is accessible, call: Calendar Clerk (415) 703-1203.

If specialized accommodations for the disabled are needed, e.g., sign language interpreters, those making the arrangements must call the Public Advisor at (415) 703-2074, TTY 1-866-836-7825 or (415) 703-5282 at least three working days in advance of the event.

* ^* Limitations on the scope of rebuttal and update testimony and related requirements set forth in the Rate Case Plan (D.89-01-040 as modified by D.93-07-030) are applicable.