5. Implementation

This order is effective immediately. We understand, however, that it may take a reasonable amount of time for utilities to identify circuits, and make changes necessary to ensure that rotating outages do not occur on the circuits of customers added to the essential customer group herein. Nonetheless, we expect utilities to make these changes effective no later than 10 days of the date of this order for those customers listed in Appendix B who have submitted a statement of authenticity. Further, respondent utilities shall exempt the circuits of those customers that have not yet submitted a statement of authenticity within 10 days of the date of a letter from the Energy Division Director reporting receipt of a Statement of Authenticity.

A period of 10 days for respondent utilities to accomplish these changes is reasonable. This decision was issued as a draft for comment in mid-August 2001. Utilities at that time may have begun to make implementation plans based on knowing the customers proposed to be found essential. Further, the urgent need to provide reasonable protection to public health and safety based on the final list of those awarded Category M status requires that each utility apply all necessary and reasonable efforts to make the required changes without delay.

Each respondent utility unable to implement all required circuit modifications within 10 days must file and serve a report. The report must state the name of the customer granted essential customer status herein whose circuit has not yet been exempted from rotating outages, the reason, an estimate of when the change will become effective, the utility's recommendation, and anything else reasonably needed for the Commission to assess the matter. The report must be filed, served on 5 individuals at the Commission (i.e., Commissioner Wood, ALJ Mattson, ALJ Galvin, Jonathan Lakritz, Laura Martin), and served on each Category M customer affected by the delay. Comments on the report may be filed and served within 10 days of the date of the report. Service of comments should be on the respondent utility, and the same persons identified above at the Commission.