CPUC Moves to Solidify Intervenor Awards

Intervenor compensation for cases at the California Public Utilities Commission will now be doled out annually, with specific hourly rates for public advocates instead of on a case-by-case basis. The August 19 decision, which will fully kick in next year, is meant to address the leap of faith some intervenors say they take when participating in proceedings with no guarantees of payment. However, only advocates that already have experience at the commission will be eligible for annual hourly rates. Utilities are now required to disclose rates they pay in-house and outside counsel to provide a better picture of market rates for such services compared to intervenor rates. However, the commission is not obliged to boost compensation to match rates utilities pay, which tend to be significantly higher than payouts to advocates. ?The law doesn?t say the commission needs to award intervenor compensation equal to market rates,? but it does specify they can?t exceed those rates, observed James Weil, director of the Aglet Consumer Alliance and a frequent litigator before the CPUC. Still, Weil said the move to set annual hourly rates is a fair approach. After utilities and intervenors file proposed rates next January, the CPUC will come up with hourly payments for the year based on training and experience. Intervenors can seek an ?adjustment? to an adopted hourly rate, while the CPUC can reduce compensation if performance in a particular case is considered below par. For work done this year, intervenors can propose hourly rates 8 percent higher than rates the CPUC paid last year. Regulators say they still want advocates left out of this hourly rate scheme to participate in proceedings and stress that they will develop information to help prospective intervenors forecast reasonable rates based on ranges of experience. That may not appease some less experienced advocates that already feel shut out of the process, because investing resources is an expensive risk ( Circuit , July 30, 2004). Public Advocates? Awards In an August 19 decision, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the following intervenor compensation awards for PG&E?s bankruptcy case: The Utility Reform Network: $867,000. California Hydropower Reform Coalition: $256,000. Aglet Consumer Alliance: $127,000. Greenlining Institute: $97,000. Consumers Union: $33,000.

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CPUC Moves to Solidify Intervenor Awards

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