4. Comments on Draft Decision

Rule 77.7 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure provides for public review and comment for draft decisions and alternates that are subject to § 311(g). Rule 77.7(f) allows the Commission to reduce or waive the period for public review and comment for alternates under various circumstances.⁴ Rule 77.7(f)(9) specifically provides for a reduction or waiver of the review and comment period where the public necessity so requires:

For a decision where the Commission determines, on the motion of a party or on its own motion, that public necessity requires reduction or waiver of the 30-day period for public review and comment. For purposes of this subsection, "public necessity" refers to circumstances in which the public interest of the Commission adopting a decision before expiration of the 30-day review and comment period clearly outweighs the public interest in having the full 30-day period for review and comment. "Public necessity" includes, without limitation, circumstances where failure to adopt a decision before expiration of the 30-day review and comment period would place the Commission or a Commission regulatee in violation of applicable law, or where such failure would cause significant harm to public health or welfare. When acting pursuant to this subsection, the Commission will provide such reduced period for public review and comment as is consistent with the public necessity requiring reduction or waiver.

Pursuant to Rule 77.7(f)(9), we determine that public necessity requires a reduction of the period for public review and comment. Both SDG&E and CFBF have proposed that the voluntary program be in place by the end of the year, so that eligible customers may begin receiving the benefit of the program as soon as possible. By reducing the review and comment period, the Commission will be able to consider establishing the voluntary program at its December 7, 2000 meeting. This will provide time for SDG&E to submit its implementing advice letter and to administer the initial enrollment process during the month of December, as proposed by both SDG&E and CFBF. Moreover, the voluntary program is being established pursuant to an urgency statute. In determining the need for urgency, the Legislature declared the following:

"This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are: In order to provide timely relief to ratepayers in the service territory of the San Diego Gas and Electric Company suffering from a rapid increase in retail energy rates due to spiraling wholesale energy costs, thereby endangering the public peace, health, and safety, it is necessary that this act take immediate effect."

In our view, these Legislative findings apply with equal force to the voluntary bill stabilization plan for large commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers. The public interest in adopting a decision on December 7, 2000 clearly outweighs the public interest in having the full 30-day review and comment period.

Findings of Fact

1. AB 265 requires that the Commission establish a voluntary program in which the energy component of the rate for SDG&E's large commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers electing to participate is frozen at $.065 per kWh, subject to true-up after a year.

2. D.00-09-040 provided parties an opportunity to file comments and reply comments on the voluntary program directed by § 332.1 (f), and SDG&E and several other parties have submitted comments and reply comments.

3. With the modifications adopted in the foregoing discussion, the voluntary program proposed by SDG&E complies with the requirement of § 332.1 (f) to establish such a program.

Conclusions of Law

1. SDG&E should be directed to implement a voluntary rate stabilization plan for its large commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers in conformance with § 332.1 (f) and the foregoing discussion.

2. Public necessity requires a reduction of the 30-day period for review of and comment on the draft decision so that the Commission can consider issuing a decision at its regularly scheduled meeting of December 7, 2000.

3. This order should be effective today so that these rate changes may be implemented expeditiously.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. Within five days of the effective date of this decision, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) shall file an advice letter to implement the voluntary rate stabilization program for large commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers in compliance with Pub. Util. Code § 332.1 (f) and this decision. The advice letter shall be effective on filing subject to Energy Division determining that it is in compliance with this decision. In its advice letter filing, SDG&E shall include a showing of how it intends to inform all potential existing and new participants of the program's availability, and a copy of the standardized contract.

2. SDG&E shall establish a memorandum account to track the costs of the voluntary program established pursuant to Ordering Paragraph 1, the revenues received, and any undercollections. The entries to the memorandum account will be reviewed in SDG&E's 2001 annual transition cost proceeding (ATCP), and subsequent ATCP proceedings as necessary depending on how long the program lasts. Within five days of the effective date of this decision, SDG&E shall file an advice letter to implement the memorandum account. The advice letter shall be effective on filing subject to Energy Division determining that it is in compliance with this decision.

This order is effective today.

Dated ________________, 2000, at San Francisco, California.