10. Ex Parte Communications
This Ruling determines that an evidentiary hearing is needed. Consequently, parties must comply with the rules governing ex parte communications set forth in Rules 7(c) and 7.1.
IT IS RULED that:
1. The scope and schedule for this proceeding is set forth in the body of this Ruling. The assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) may revise the schedule, as necessary.
2. There is a need for evidentiary hearings in this proceeding. Evidentiary hearings will begin at 10:00 a.m., October 4, 2005, and continue, as needed, through October 7, 2005, in the Commission Courtroom, State Office Building, 505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California.
3. The request by the Merced and Modesto Irrigation Districts to incorporate by reference the entire record of other proceedings into the instant proceeding is denied. Parties may cite specific portions of the record of other proceedings that are material and relevant to the instant proceeding. Any party that does so shall provide a copy of the document (or portion of the document) being cited, except there is no need to provide copies of Commission decisions.
4. All documents must be served in accordance with Rules 2.3 and 2.3.1 Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules). These Rules require, among other things, that documents be served electronically, in a searchable format, unless a party did not provide an e-mail address. If no e-mail address has been provided, service shall be made by United States mail.
5. Parties shall provide concurrent service to all parties on the service list, including those listed under "State Service" and "Information Only."
6. All parties shall e-mail an electronic copy of their documents submitted in this proceeding to the assigned ALJ at tim@cpuc.ca.gov. The electronic copy must be Microsoft Word and/or Excel to the extent possible.
7. PG&E shall coordinate a conference among the parties on September 27, 2005, to (i) produce a joint stipulation of facts and contested issues, and (ii) decide the order of witnesses and the order of cross examination.
8. On September 28, 2005, PG&E shall provide the following documents to the service list via e-mail: (i) a joint stipulation of facts and contested issues, and (ii) a list showing the order of witnesses and the order of cross examination
9. Parties shall provide notice of the specific factual issues they intend to pursue at the evidentiary hearings. Parties shall provide such notice via e-mail to the service list by no later than 2:00 p.m. on September 28, 2005.
10. Parties shall comply with the Hearing Room Ground Rules set forth in Appendix A of this Ruling.
11. Requests for a final oral argument before the Commission must be filed and served no later than October 14, 2005.
12. Parties shall limit their written testimony, cross examination, and briefs to matters within the scope of this proceeding. To the extent possible, parties should organize their testimony, cross examination, and briefs in the same manner as Pacific Gas and Electric Company's testimony attached to Application 05-06-007.
13. The category for this proceeding is ratesetting. This determination of category may be appealed in accordance with Rule 6.4.
14. ALJ Kenney is the principal hearing officer for this proceeding.
15. Parties shall comply with the ex parte communication rules set forth in Rules 7(c) and 7.1.
Dated August 25, 2005, at San Francisco, California.
/s/ MICHAEL R. PEEVEY
Michael R. Peevey
Assigned Commissioner
APPENDIX A
Hearing Room Ground Rules
Page 1 of 2
1. All prepared written testimony should be served on (i) everyone on the service list, including Appearances, State Service, and Information Only, and (ii) the Assigned Commissioner's office and the assigned ALJ. Prepared written testimony shall not be filed with the Commission's Docket Office.
2. Each party sponsoring an exhibit should, in the hearing room, provide two copies to the ALJ and one to the court reporter, and have copies available for distribution to parties present in the hearing room. If the exhibit is testimony that has already been served on the ALJ, the ALJ only needs to be provided with one copy for central files. The upper right hand corner of the exhibit cover sheet should be blank for the ALJ's exhibit stamp. If there is not sufficient room in the upper right hand corner for an exhibit stamp, please prepare a cover sheet for the exhibit.
3. As a general rule, if a party intends to introduce an exhibit while cross examining a witness, the party should provide a copy of the exhibit to the witness and the witness' counsel before the witness takes the stand on the day the exhibit is to be introduced. Generally, a party is not required to give the witness an advance copy of the document if it is to be used for purposes of impeachment or to obtain the witness' spontaneous reaction.
4. To the extent possible, exhibits should be distributed before the proceeding "goes on the record" so that parties are prepared to go forward with cross-examination when the ALJ goes "on the record." Breaks can also be used for the distribution of documents.
5. Generally, corrections to an exhibit should be made in advance and not orally from the witness stand, and only corrections of a substantive nature will be allowed from the witness stand. Corrections should be made in a timely manner by providing new exhibit pages on which the corrections appear. The original text to be deleted should be lined out, and the substitute or added text should be inserted and underlined. Each correction page should be marked with the word "revised" and the revision date.
Page 2 of 2
6. Individual chapters of large, bound volumes of testimony may be marked with separate exhibit numbers, as convenient.
7. Partial documents or excerpts from documents must include a title page or first page from the source document. Excerpts from a lengthy document should also include the table of contents contained in the source document if one is available.
8. Motions to strike prepared testimony must be made at least four working days before the witness appears in order to provide the ALJ time for review of the arguments and relevant testimony.
9. It is not necessary to serve documents that are marked and admitted into the record as reference items. The party sponsoring a reference item shall provide the document(s) to other parties upon request.
10. Beverages are allowed if containers and napkins are disposed of properly.
(END OF APPENDIX A)
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 attached Assigned Commissioner's Ruling and Scoping Memo on all parties of record in this proceeding or their attorneys of record.
Dated August 25, 2005, at San Francisco, California.
/s/ FANNIE SID
Fannie Sid
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.
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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.
