BEFORE THE - puc.pa.gov  · Web viewBEFORE THE. PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission :R-2018-2645278. Office of …

BEFORE THEPENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission : R-2018-2645278Office of Small Business Advocate : C-2018-3000567 Office of Consumer Advocate : C-2018-3000494

:v. :

:Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC :

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission : R-2018-2645296Office of Small Business Advocate : C-2018-3000574 Office of Consumer Advocate : C-2018-3000497

:v. :

:Peoples Gas Company LLC :

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission : R-2018-3000236Office of Small Business Advocate : C-2018-3000573Office of Consumer Advocate : C-2018-3000496

: v. :

:Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC- :Equitable Division :

PREHEARING ORDER

Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC-Peoples DivisionPeoples Natural Gas Company LLC-Equitable Division

On January 31, 2018, Peoples Natural Gas, on behalf of its Peoples Division and

Peoples-Equitable Division, made its Purchased Gas Cost (PGC) 60-day pre-filing with the

Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) pursuant to Section 1307(f) of the Public

Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § 1307(f), and the Commission’s regulations at 52 Pa.Code § 53.65.

On March 2, 2018, the Peoples and Peoples-Equitable Divisions made their PGC

30-day pre-filings with the Commission pursuant to Section 1307(f) of the Public Utility Code,

66 Pa.C.S. § 1307(f), and the Commission’s regulations at 52 Pa.Code §§ 53.64, 53.65.

On March 9, 2018, the Commission’s Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement

(I&E) filed a Notice of Appearance at Docket Nos. R-2018-2645278 and R-2018-3000236.

On March 15, 2018, the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) filed Notices of

Appearance, Complaints, and Public Statements at Docket Nos. R-2018-2645278 and R-2018-

3000236.

On March 20, 2018, the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) filed Notices

of Appearance, Complaints, Public Statements, and Verifications at Docket Nos. R-2018-

2645278 and R-2018-3000236.

On April 2, 2018, Peoples Division and Peoples-Equitable Division filed their

definitive PGC filings, including supporting information required by the Commission’s

regulations, Peoples Natural Gas’s direct testimony, exhibits, and Pro Forma Tariff Supplements

reflecting actual and projected changes in natural gas costs and other tariff changes.

In the Tariff Supplements, Peoples Natural Gas proposes, inter alia, decreases of

$0.1642/Mcf and $0.1642/Mcf, in its rates for the Peoples Division and the Peoples-Equitable

Division, respectively, for recovery of purchased gas costs applicable to residential sales service

customers, as compared to the rates in effect as of January 1, 2018. Rate changes related to

recovery of purchased gas costs were proposed for other customer classes. Furthermore, Peoples

Natural Gas proposes to charge producers a retainage rate of 2.0% for gas from convention wells

gathered into the system.

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Peoples Gas

On January 31, 2018, Peoples Gas made its Purchased Gas Cost (PGC) 60-day

pre-filing with the Commission pursuant to Section 1307(f) of the Public Utility Code,

66 Pa.C.S. § 1307(f), and the Commission’s regulations at 52 Pa.Code § 53.65.

On March 2, 2018, Peoples Gas submitted its 30-day pre-filing material to the

Commission pursuant to Section 1307(f) of the Public Utility Code (Act 74 of 1984) and the

Commission’s regulations. See 66 Pa.C.S. § 1307(f); 52 Pa.Code §§ 53.64-65.

On April 2, 2018, Peoples Gas filed its unnumbered and undated Supplement to

Tariff Gas – PA PUC No. 8 pursuant to Section 1307(f) of the Public Utility Code to provide for

projected changes in tariff rates resulting from changes in purchased gas costs.

In the tariff supplement, Peoples Gas proposes, inter alia, a decrease of $0.58/Mcf

in its rates for recovery of purchased gas costs applicable to residential sales service customers,

as compared to the rates in effect as of January 1, 2018. Rate changes related to recovery of

purchased gas costs were proposed for other customer classes. Furthermore, Peoples Gas

proposes to charge producers a retainage rate of 2.9% for gas from convention wells gathered

into the system.

On March 15, 2018, the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) filed a Notice of

Appearance, Complaint, and Public Statement.

On March 20, 2018, the Office of Small Business Advocate (OSBA) filed a

Notice of Appearance, Complaint, Public Statement, and Verification.

On April 2, 2018, PIOGA filed a Petition to Intervene in all three cases.

A call-in telephone hearing notice was issued on April 3, 2018, scheduling a

prehearing conference for April 5, 2018. The undersigned presiding officer was assigned to this

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proceeding and issued a prehearing conference order on March 29, 2018, informing the parties

that the initial prehearing conference on this case would be held on April 5, 2018 and outlining

various procedural requirements for the prehearing conference. The parties submitted prehearing

memoranda in accordance with that order.

As of the date of this order, the undersigned presiding officer has not been

advised of the filing of any individual complaints or additional petitions to intervene in this

matter.

A prehearing conference was held on April 5, 2018, as scheduled. Counsel for

Peoples, Peoples-Equitable and Peoples Gas (collectively the Companies) as well as I&E, OCA,

OSBA and PIOGA attended the conference. This order memorializes the matters decided and

agreed upon by the parties during that conference and sets forth various procedures to be

followed during the proceeding.

Litigation Schedule

The parties agree upon the following litigation schedule:

Date Event

April 5, 2018 Prehearing Conference

May 3, 2018 Parties’ Written Direct Testimony

May 23, 2018 Written Rebuttal Testimony

May 31, 2018 by 3 p.m. Written Surrebuttal Testimony

June 4-5, 2018Evidentiary Hearings (with oral rejoinder) in Harrisburg beginning

at 10:00 a.m.

June 19, 2018 Main Briefs Due

June 26, 2018Reply Briefs Due or Submission of Joint Settlement Petition Executed by Representatives of All Parties, Together With All Parties’ Statements In Support of Settlement

In addition, the parties have agreed that, in the event that two days are needed to

complete the hearing in this proceeding, all testimony and cross-examination of the Peoples

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Division and Peoples-Equitable Division will be handled on the first day of testimony. If only

one day of hearing is needed, the hearing will be held on June 4, 2018. The parties shall attempt

to resolve any issues regarding the presentation of witnesses and the order of the presentation of

witnesses prior to the hearing.

For parties accepting electronic service, the documents described in the litigation

schedule referenced above shall be served electronically on the date indicated, by 4:00 p.m.

unless otherwise indicated, provided that such documents are followed by hard copy delivery by

first-class mail. The parties are requested to provide discovery requests, responses and

documents electronically to the individuals identified in the parties’ respective prehearing

memoranda.

The parties are reminded of the Commission’s requirements for the preparation

and filing of written testimony. 52 Pa.Code § 5.412. Written testimony must be accompanied by

all exhibits to which it relates. The above-stated dates are in-hand dates for service on the parties

and the Presiding Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Unless otherwise provided herein, the

parties and the Presiding ALJ agree to accept email transmission of such material, so long as the

subject email is received by 4:00 p.m. on the date due and provided the email is followed by

sending a hard copy of the same material by first-class mail postage prepaid on the same

business day. The email address of the Presiding ALJ is [email protected]. The Presiding ALJ

will not accept facsimile transmissions greater than ten pages in length without prior

authorization. If the parties have any questions, they may call the office of the Presiding ALJ at

(412) 565-3550.

Any party, wishing to submit written testimony (pursuant to 52 Pa.Code

§ 5.412(f)) is advised to comply with the Commission’s requirement concerning the electronic

filing of written testimony as specified in the Commission’s Implementation Order, dated

January 10, 2013, at Docket No. M-2012-2331973. Furthermore, the parties are reminded that

parties serving pre-served testimony in proceedings pending before the Commission pursuant to

52 Pa.Code § 5.412(f), shall be required, within thirty (30) days after the final hearing in an

adjudicatory proceeding (unless such time period is otherwise modified by the presiding officer),

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to either efile with or provide to the Secretary’s Bureau a Compact Disc (CD) containing all

testimony furnished to the court reporter during the proceeding. In addition to the testimony that

is electronically submitted to the Commission either by efiling or by the submission of a CD to

the Secretary’s Bureau, parties must continue to submit two copies of such testimony to the court

reporter at the hearing of this matter.

The hearings scheduled for Harrisburg will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m. The

parties must confer before commencement of the hearings to schedule their witnesses so as to

avoid “holes” or “dead time” during the hearings. In addition, the parties will coordinate

scheduling issues in the event of conflicts with the schedules of necessary witnesses and other

matters which may arise in this proceeding.

Parties

As of the date of this order, the entities named above are the only parties involved

in this case. A (Service List or Parties List) of these parties is appended to this order. In

addition, the parties are requested to provide courtesy copies of all documents, including

discovery, testimony, and briefs by electronic service to the individuals identified in the

respective prehearing memoranda filed by the parties.

Individuals remaining on the Service List will be served with all of the pleadings,

filings, discovery requests, written testimony, orders and decisions served and issued in this

proceeding. These documents may be voluminous. You will be required to serve a copy of

anything that you file upon the presiding officer and each party appearing on the Service List, as

modified, regardless of the cost of postage. The schedule for presenting written testimony was

set at the prehearing conference in this matter. Your participation in this proceeding will be in

accordance with the rules of Commission practice appearing in Title 52 of the Pennsylvania

Code, Chapters 1, 3 and 5. The Pennsylvania Code is available on line at www.pacode.com.

Although a natural person or a sole proprietor may appear on his or her own behalf, if you are

any entity other than a natural person or a sole proprietor, (e.g., a corporation, partnership,

municipality, etc.), you will be required to have an attorney represent you in accordance with the

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laws of Pennsylvania. If you are an individual, you may either represent yourself or have an

attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania represent you.

However, if you are a partnership, corporation, trust, association, joint venture, other business

organization, trust, trustee, legal representative, receiver, agency, governmental entity,

municipality or other political subdivision, you must have an attorney licensed to practice law in

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania represent you in this proceeding. Unless you are an

attorney, you may not represent someone else. Attorneys shall comply with the Commission’s

appearance requirements. See 52 Pa.Code § 1.24(b).

Consolidation

The complaints of OCA at Docket No. C-2018-3000497, and OSBA at

C-2018-3000574 are consolidated with the filing by Peoples Gas Company LLC at Docket

No. R-2018-2645296.

The complaints of OCA filed at Docket No. C-2018-3000494 and OSBA filed at

Docket No. C-2018-3000567 are consolidated with the filing by Peoples Natural Gas Company

LLC at Docket No. R-2018-2645278.

The complaints of OCA filed at Docket No. C-2018-3000496 and OSBA filed at

Docket No. C-2018-3000573 are consolidated with the filing by Peoples Natural Gas Company -

Equitable Division at Docket No. R-2018-3000236.

The Peoples Division proceeding filed at Docket No. R-2018-2645278 and the

Peoples-Equitable Division proceeding filed at Docket No. R-2018-3000236 are consolidated at

R-2018-2645278.

In addition, the Peoples Division proceeding filed at Docket No. R-2018-2645278

and the Peoples-Equitable proceeding filed at Docket No. R-2018-3000236 are consolidated with

the Peoples Gas Company proceeding filed at Docket No. R-2018-2645296, only for the

purposes of hearing the Peoples and Peoples-Equitable cases with the Peoples Gas Company

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hearing, and with separate briefs and briefing issues to be presented by the parties for the Peoples

Gas Company proceeding.

Intervention

On April 2, 2018, PIOGA filed a Petition to Intervene. No additional petitions to

intervene have been filed to date in this matter. Without objection from any party, the Petition to

Intervene filed by PIOGA on April 2, 2018, is granted.

Public Input Hearing

At present, no party has identified a need to conduct a public input hearing in the

Company’s service territory. If consumer interests arise however, the parties are hereby directed

to give this matter their prompt attention and notify the Presiding ALJ immediately of the change

in circumstances.

Issues

In their respective prehearing memoranda, the parties identified various issues

they may wish to pursue. The reader is directed to these documents to review a recitation of

these issues. Additional issues may arise as the discovery process unfolds.

Discovery

The parties shall engage in informal discovery whenever and wherever possible in

an attempt to resolve any discovery disputes amicably. 52 Pa.Code § 5.322. If this process fails,

the parties have recourse to the Commission’s procedures for formal discovery, as herein

modified. 52 Pa.Code §§ 5.321, et seq. Except as herein allowed, the parties must not send the

Presiding ALJ discovery material or cover letters, unless attached to a motion to compel or a

motion for sanctions. All such motions must contain a certification of counsel of the informal

discovery undertaken and their efforts to resolve their discovery disputes informally. If a motion

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to compel fails to contain such certification, the Presiding ALJ will contact the parties and direct

them to pursue informal discovery.

OCA and I&E have requested modification of the Commission’s procedures for

formal discovery. All parties agreed to the proposed modifications set forth below, therefore the

requests are hereby granted. Therefore, the following modified discovery procedure applies to

this case:

1. Answers to written interrogatories shall be served electronically within ten

(10) calendar days of service of the interrogatories, with hard copies to follow; an exception shall

apply to interrogatory requests received after 12:00 noon on a Friday, in which case the ten-day

period shall begin the following business day.

2. Objections to interrogatories shall be communicated orally within three (3)

calendar days of service of the interrogatories; unresolved objections shall be served on the parties,

with a certificate of service filed with the Secretary’s Bureau, within five (5) calendar days of

service of the interrogatories.

3. Motions to dismiss objections and/or direct the answering of

interrogatories shall be filed within three (3) calendar days of service of the written objections.

4. Answers to motions to dismiss objections or direct the answering of

interrogatories shall be filed within three (3) calendar days of service of such motions.

5. Rulings over motions shall be issued, if possible, within seven (7) calendar

days of the filing of the motion.

6. Responses to requests for document production, entry for inspection, or

other purposes shall be served in-hand within ten (10) calendar days.

7. Requests for admission shall be deemed admitted unless answered within

ten (10) calendar days or objected to within five (5) calendar days of service of the requests.

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8. Answers to on-the-record data requests shall be served in-hand within

seven (7) calendar days of the requests.

The parties must, in good faith and on an informal basis, attempt to resolve any

discovery dispute amicably among themselves, before contacting the Presiding ALJ for

resolution.1

Settlement and Stipulations

The parties are reminded it is the Commission’s policy to encourage settlements.

52 Pa.Code § 5.231(a). The parties are strongly urged to seriously explore this possibility.

Submission of a Joint Settlement Petition executed by representatives of all parties, together with

all parties’ Statements In Support of Settlement, must be filed with the Secretary for the

Commission and received in-hand by the Presiding ALJ not later than 4:00 p.m. on June 26,

2018. In addition to service of a hard copy, the Secretary must receive these documents on a CD

ROM in searchable PDF format. Where possible, the parties must submit to the Presiding ALJ

one hard copy of all documents filed in this proceeding and one copy by email. The electronic

version of the documents served on the Presiding ALJ must be prepared on an IBM compatible

system in Microsoft Office Word   2010 format or in an earlier version of this software

application.

If settlement is not feasible, the parties are encouraged to stipulate to any matters

they reasonably can to expedite this proceeding, lessen the burden of time and expenses in

litigation on all parties and conserve administrative hearing resources. 52 Pa.Code §§ 5.232 and

5.234. All stipulations entered into by the parties must be reduced to writing, signed by the

parties to be bound thereby, and moved into the record during the hearings in this case. An

exception to this requirement may occur when circumstances of time and expediency warrant. If

so, an oral presentation of a stipulation is permissible, if it is followed by a reduction to writing

as herein directed.

1 If the parties cannot resolve their discovery dispute informally, they may collectively confer informally with the Presiding ALJ to resolve any outstanding discovery disputes.

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Cross-Examination

Friendly cross-examination or cumulative cross-examination will not be

permitted. 52 Pa.Code §§ 5.76 & 5.243.

Briefs

The parties must comply with 52 Pa.Code §§ 5.501, et seq., regarding the

preparation and filing of briefs. Page limitations on briefs will be discussed at the hearing.

Where possible, the parties shall submit to the Presiding ALJ one hard copy of their briefs and

one copy by email. If a party cannot provide a copy by email or on computer disc, it must

submit two hard copies of briefs. The electronic version of a brief must be prepared on an IBM

compatible system in Microsoft Office Word   2010 format or in an earlier version of this software

application. If any questions arise, please call the office of the Presiding ALJ for clarification.

Modification

Any of the provisions of this prehearing order may be modified upon motion and

good cause shown by any party in interest.

Miscellaneous

1. All pleadings provided to the undersigned ALJ shall include an electronic

version prepared on an IBM compatible system in Microsoft Office Word 2010 format or in an

earlier version of this software application.

2. In addition, testimony from the Company and any settlement in this

proceeding and briefs submitted by the parties shall set forth the following, for each Company,

provided in the text of the document, and not as a reference to an exhibit or other document:

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a. The parties’ proposal, or if a settlement, the agreed upon rates

provided in the settlement.

b. The current rates for each customer class as of the date of the filing

by the Company.

c. Requested and negotiated changes in gas costs for each customer

class.

d. The requested and negotiated changes in gas costs for each

customer class.

e. The impact upon each customer class, (i.e. under the proposed rate

each customer would have paid X, and under the agreed upon amount, each customer will pay

Y.) 

3. The above information shall be specifically identified and provided in

terms of dollar amounts and percentages of increase or decrease for each customer as well as a

percentage of increase or decrease from the current rates for each customer class as of the date of

the filing by the Company.

4. The parties will use Microsoft WORD format on copies provided to the

undersigned presiding officer of all briefs, pleadings, motions, memoranda, and petitions,

whenever possible, followed by hard copies. Page limitations and common brief outlines may be

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discussed on the last day of hearings. Please provide the undersigned presiding officer with hard

copies along with an electronic copy of all filed documents, excluding testimony, in WORD

format.

Date: April 6, 2018 ____________________________________Jeffrey A. WatsonAdministrative Law Judge

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R-2018-2645278 PEOPLES NATURAL GAS FILED ITS 1307F 60 DAY PRE-FILING/SUPPORTING INFORMATION. R-2018-2645296 PEOPLES GAS COMPANY LLC FILED ITS 1307F 60-DAY PRE-FILING/SUPPORTING INFORMATION.R-2018-3000236 PEOPLES NATURAL GAS - EQUITABLE DIVISION FILED ITS 1307F PRE-FILING/SUPPORTING INFO.

(Revised 4/3/18)

WILLIAM H ROBERTS II ESQUIRELYNDA W PETRICHEVICH ESQUIREDIRECTOR OF RATES PEOPLES GAS COMPANY LLC 375 NORTH SHORE DRIVE SUITE 600 PITTSBURGH PA 15212412-208-6528

MICHAEL W HASSELL ESQUIRE ANTHONY D KANAGY ESQUIREMICHAEL W GANG ESQUIREDEVIN T RYAN ESQUIREPOST & SCHELL PC17 NORTH SECOND STREET 12TH FLOORHARRISBURG PA 17101-1601717-612-6034717-612-6026717-612-6052Accepts E-serviceRepresenting Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC

DAVID T EVRARD ESQUIREHAYLEY E DUNN ESQUIREARON J BEATTY ESQUIREOFFICE OF CONSUMER ADVOCATE555 WALNUT STREET 5TH FLOOR FORUM PLACEHARRISBURG PA 17101717-783-5048Accepts E-serviceRepresenting Office of Consumer AdvocateC-2018-3000494C-2018-3000496

C-2018-3000497

ELIZABETH ROSE TRISCARI ESQUIREJOHN R EVANSOFFICE OF SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATE 300 N 2ND ST STE 202HARRISBURG PA 17101717-783-2525C-2018-3000567C-2018-3000573C-2018-3000574

RICHARD A KANASKIE ESQUIRE*GINA L MILLER ESQUIREJOHN M COOGAN ESQUIREPA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSIONBUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENTPO BOX 3265HARRISBURG PA 17105-3265717-783-6150*Accepts E-service

KEVIN J MOODY ESQUIREPENNSYLVANIA INDEPENDENT OIL & GAS ASSOCIATION212 LOCUST STREET SUITE 300HARRISBURG PA 17101-1510717-234-8525Accepts E-serviceRepresenting PIOGA