ALJ/XJV/sid DRAFT 9/5/2002

Agenda ID #943

Decision DRAFT DECISION OF ALJ VIETH (Mailed 8/2/2002)

BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Petition of Certain Public Utilities to Adopt, Amend, or Repeal a Regulation Pursuant to Public Utilities Code Section 1708.5 and for an Order Instituting a Rulemaking Regarding General Order 69-C.

Petition 02-02-003 (Filed February 4, 2002)

OPINION DENYING PETITION

FOR RULEMAKING INTO GENERAL ORDER 69-C

Summary

After considering all the comments, we deny the Petition for a rulemaking into General Order (GO) 69-C. GO 69-C permits limited, revocable uses of utility property by third parties and as such, provides an exemption, under applicable facts, from the statutory requirement that the Commission approve, in advance, arrangements for third parties to use utility property. We conclude that a rulemaking will not yield the fact-specific guidance that those who support a rulemaking appear to seek. We restate three principles, articulated in recent decisions, which apply to appropriate use of GO 69-C across utility industries. We will continue to monitor the need for a rulemaking as we resolve related, pending applications.