DR 98-014
Public Service Company of New Hampshire
Fuel and Purchased Power Adjustment Clause
Order Approving Procedural Schedule
O R D E R N O. 22,871
March 16, 1998
On February 13, 1998, Public Service Company of New
Hampshire (PSNH) filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission (Commission) a request to open a proceeding to
consider PSNH's Fuel and Purchased Power Adjustment Clause
(FPPAC) rate for the period June 1, 1998 through November 30,
1998.
By Order of Notice issued February 19, 1998, the
Commission scheduled a prehearing conference for March 5, 1998,
set deadlines for intervention requests and objections thereto,
outlined a proposed procedural schedule, and required the Parties
and the Commission Staff (Staff) to summarize their positions
with regard to the filing for the record.
Waste Management of New Hampshire (WMNH), by its agent
Philip L. Munck, filed with the Commission on February 26, 1998 a
written request for intervention. At the prehearing conference,
the Commission granted WMNH's intervention. The Office of the
Consumer Advocate (OCA) is a statutorily recognized intervenor.
At the prehearing conference the Parties and Staff
agreed to the procedural schedule as outlined in the Order of
Notice, amending, however, the dates for the hearings on the
merits to include the afternoon of May 11, 1998, and a full day
of hearings on May 15, 1998. The procedural schedule agreed to
is as follows:
PSNH files rate, testimony
and exhibits. March 13, 1998
First Technical Session with all March 24, 1998
Company witnesses. Majority
of data requests received.
Staff, OCA and intervenors fax March 25, 1998
data requests to PSNH.
PSNH notify Staff and/or intervenors March 31 , 1998
of problematic data requests.
Responses to March 24 data April 7, 1998
requests filed.
Second Technical Session with April 16 , 1998
Company witnesses to attend
on an as needed basis.
Follow-up data requests.
Staff, OCA and intervenors fax April 17 , 1998
data requests to PSNH.
Responses to April 16 data requests April 24 , 1998
filed.
PSNH files updated rate with February April 27 , 1998
and March 1998 actual data and
updated forecast, if necessary.
Staff and intervenor testimony filed. May 1 , 1998
Company Rebuttal testimony filed. May 7, 1998
Statement of issues filed. May 7, 1998
Hearings on merits. May 11 at 1:30 p.m. May 12, 13, 14 and 15, 1998
at 10:00 a.m each day
Last transcript delivered May 15, 1998
(next day copies).
Revised statement of issues and May 18, 1998
order of issues in briefs.
Briefs filed. May 26, 1998
Commission meeting. June 1, 1998;
Also at the prehearing conference, in accordance with
the Order of Notice, PSNH and Staff stated their positions with
regard to the filing for the record.
We find the proposed procedural schedule to be
reasonable and will, therefore, approve it for the duration of
the proceeding.
Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that the procedural schedule delineated above
is APPROVED; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that Waste Management of New
Hampshire's request for intervention is GRANTED.
By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this sixteenth day of March, 1998.
Douglas L. Patch Bruce B. Ellsworth Susan S. Geiger
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner
Attested by:
Thomas B. Getz
Executive Director and Secretary