Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 25-30.455 - Staff Assistance in Rate Cases
(1)
Water and wastewater utilities whose total gross annual operating revenues are
$335, 000 or less for water service or $335, 000 or less for wastewater
service, or $670, 000 or less on a combined basis, may file with the Office of
Commission Clerk an application for staff assistance in rate applications by
submitting a completed staff assisted rate case application. Reasonable and
prudent rate case expense is eligible for recovery through the rates developed
by staff. Recovery of attorney fees and outside consultant fees related to the
rate case is determined based on the requirements set forth in Section
367.0814(3),
F.S. To be eligible for staff assistance under this rule:
(a) The applicant or utility owner must have
at least one year of experience operating the utility for which the rate
increase is being requested;
(b)
The utility must be in compliance with its annual report filing in accordance
with subsection 25-30.110(3),
F.A.C.; and
(c) The utility must
have paid all required regulatory assessment fees or must be current on any
approved regulatory assessment fee payment plan.
(2) The appropriate application form,
Commission Form PSC/AFD 2-W (11/86) (Rev. 06/14), entitled "Application for a
Staff Assisted Rate Case, " is incorporated into this rule by reference and is
available at:
http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-04415.
The form is also available on the Commission's website,
www.floridapsc.com.
(3) Upon completion of the form, the
applicant shall file it with the Office of Commission Clerk, Florida Public
Service Commission, 2540 Shumard Oak Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida
32399-0870.
(4)
(a) Within 30 days of receipt of the
completed application, the Commission will evaluate the application and
determine the applicant's eligibility for staff assistance.
(b) If the Commission has received four or
more applications in the previous 30 days; or, if the Commission has 20 or more
docketed staff assisted rate cases in active status on the date the application
is received, the Commission will deny initial evaluation of an application for
staff assistance and close the docket. When an application is denied under the
provisions of this paragraph, the Commission staff will notify the applicant of
the date on which the application may be resubmitted.
(c) Initially, determinations of eligibility
will be conditional, pending an examination of the condition of the applicant's
books and records.
(5)
Upon making its final determination of eligibility, the Commission staff will
notify the applicant in writing as to whether the application is officially
accepted or denied. If the application is accepted, a staff assisted rate case
will be initiated. If the application is denied, the notification of
application denial will state the deficiencies in the application.
(6) The date of Commission staff's written
notification to the utility that the utility is eligible for staff assistance
under this rule will be considered the date of official acceptance of the
application by the Commission. The official date of filing is 30 days after the
official acceptance of the application by the Commission staff.
(7) The application is deemed denied if the
utility does not remit the filing fee, as provided by paragraph
25-30.020(2)(f),
F.A.C., within 30 days after official acceptance.
(8) An applicant may request reconsideration
of the application denial within 15 days of receipt of notification that the
application is denied. The request will be decided by the full
Commission.
(9) A substantially
affected person may file a petition to protest the Commission's proposed agency
action in a staff assisted rate case within 21 days of issuance of the Notice
of Proposed Agency Action Order, as set forth in Rule
28-106.111, F.A.C.
(10) A petition to protest the Commission's
proposed agency action must conform to Rule
28-106.201, F.A.C.
(11) In the event of a protest of the
Commission's Notice of Proposed Agency Action Order in a staff assisted rate
case, the utility must:
(a) Provide prefiled
direct testimony in accordance with the Order Establishing Procedure issued in
the case. At a minimum, that testimony must adopt the Commission's Proposed
Agency Action Order;
(b) Sponsor a
witness to support source documentation provided to the Commission staff in its
preparation of the staff audit, the staff engineering and accounting report and
the staff proposed agency action recommendation in the case;
(c) Include in its testimony the necessary
factual information to support its position on any issue that it chooses to
take a position different than that contained in the Commission's Proposed
Agency Action Order; and,
(d) Meet
all other requirements of the Order Establishing Procedure.
(12) Failure to comply with the dates
established in the Order Establishing Procedure, or to timely file a request
for extension of time for good cause shown, may result in dismissal of the
staff assisted rate case and closure of the docket.
(13) In the event of a protest of the
Commission's Proposed Agency Action Order in a staff assisted rate case, the
Commission staff will:
(a) File prefiled
direct testimony to explain its analysis in the staff proposed agency action
recommendation. In the event the staff wishes to alter its position on any
issue, it will provide factual testimony to support its changed
position;
(b) Meet all other
requirements of the Order Establishing Procedure; and,
(c) Provide to the utility materials to
assist the utility in the preparation of its testimony and exhibits. This
material will consist of an example of testimony filed by a utility in another
case, an example of testimony that would support the Proposed Agency Action
Order in this case, an example of an exhibit filed in another case, and
examples of prehearing statements and briefs filed in other
cases.
Notes
Rulemaking Authority 350.127(2), 367.0814, 367.121 FS. Law Implemented 367.0814 FS.
New 12-8-80, Formerly 25-10.180, Amended 11-10-86, 8-26-91, 11-30-93, 1-31-00, 12-16-08, 8-10-14, 2-19-17, 7-1-18, 12-8-21, 7-1-23.
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