DR 98-174
Public Service Company of New Hampshire
1999 Conservation and Load Management Pre-Approval Filing
Order Addressing Interventions and Procedural Schedule
O R D E R N O. 23,066
November 13, 1998
APPEARANCES: Gerald M. Eaton, Esq., for Public Service
Company of New Hampshire; Gary Milbury for the New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services, Air Resources Division;
Heidi L. Kroll for the Governor's Office of Energy and Community
Services; David W. Marshall, Esq., for the Conservation Law
Foundation; William Homeyer for the Office of the Consumer
Advocate on behalf of residential ratepayers; and Michelle A.
Caraway and James J. Cunningham, Jr. for the Staff of the New
Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On October 1, 1998, Public Service Company of New
Hampshire (PSNH) filed with the New Hampshire Public Utilities
Commission (Commission) its 1999 Conservation and Load Management
(C&LM) Pre-Approval Filing in accordance with Commission Order
No. 22,905 (April 28, 1998). PSNH seeks approval for a C&LM
budget of $3,206,196, of which $200,000 represents recovery of
Lost Fixed Costs. PSNH proposes to continue the same programs
that were approved by the Commission by Order No. 22,905 and
expanded by Order No. 22,999 (August 17, 1998) along with the
addition of a New Regional Initiatives Program. PSNH requests
Commission approval of program modifications and funding sources.
PSNH currently has $1,697,196 in base rates for C&LM funding and
is seeking additional funding of $739,000. PSNH proposes to use
the carry-over of unspent 1998 funding and applicable interest to
fund the remainder of the budget.
By an Order of Notice issued October 9, 1998, the
Commission scheduled a prehearing conference for November 2,
1998, set deadlines for intervention requests and objections
thereto, outlined a procedural schedule, and required the Parties
and Commission Staff (Staff) to summarize their positions with
regard to the filing for the record. On October 19, 1998, the
Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) filed a Petition to Intervene.
On October 26, 1998, the Governor's Office of Energy and
Community Services (ECS) filed a Motion for Full Intervention.
On October 30, 1998, the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services, Air Resources Division (DES) filed a late
Motion for Full Intervention. There were no objections to the
motions to intervene. The Office of the Consumer Advocate (OCA)
is a statutorily recognized intervenor.
At the prehearing conference, PSNH, CLF, DES, ECS, OCA,
and Staff modified certain dates of the procedural schedule as
outlined in the Order of Notice. The revised procedural schedule
is as follows:
Data Requests by Staff and November 5, 1998
Intervenors
Company Data Responses by noon November 13, 1998
Technical Session November 16, 1998
Testimony by Staff and November 20, 1998
Intervenors
Data Requests by the Company November 25, 1998
Data Responses by Staff and December 3, 1998
Intervenors
Settlement Conference December 10, 1998
Filing of Settlement Agreement, December 16, 1998
if any
Hearing @ 1:30 p.m. December 21, 1998.
At the prehearing conference, in accordance with the
Order of Notice, PSNH, CLF, DES, ECS, OCA, and Staff stated their
positions with regard to the filing for the record. PSNH stated
that it proposed to continue the same residential and commercial
and industrial (C&I) programs as were approved for 1998 and to
operate those programs for a complete program year. PSNH briefly
described the expansion of the C&LM program which was approved by
the Commission in August 1998. PSNH believes that approval of
the C&LM proposal before January 1999 will allow PSNH to offer
its programs more efficiently than it was able to in 1998. PSNH
stated that the funding for the C&LM program comes from existing
rates. PSNH requested approval for additional funding and
authorization to use the carryover of unspent funds for 1998 with
applicable interest to fund the remainder of the 1999 C&LM
program.
ECS stated that based on its preliminary review of the
PSNH filing, it was generally supportive of the direction that
PSNH appears to be headed with its C&LM objectives. ECS was
pleased to see that PSNH has proposed to continue its portfolio
of 1998 programs with some modest modifications and including
those programs approved by the Commission as part of the limited
expansion in August 1998. ECS stated that it supports PSNH's mix
of traditional programs and market transformation initiatives
which are made available for all its customer classes. ECS is
interested in getting a better understanding of the details and
planning assumptions used to prepare the proposal. ECS plans to
participate in formal as well as informal information exchanges
with PSNH and the other parties. ECS anticipates being able to
support the filing in general while reserving the right to
propose modest changes as appropriate. ECS stated that it
supports PSNH's proposal to work with the parties and Staff to
develop new regional initiatives with a proposed budget of
approximately $100,000.
DES stated no preliminary position at the prehearing
conference.
CLF stated that it agreed with a great deal of ECS'
comments and pointed out that it suggested in the 1998 C&LM
proceeding that PSNH's budget for C&LM should be increased
significantly and, while the Commission did not increase funding
for those programs as much as CLF would have liked, the direction
the Commission took was appropriate. CLF believes that PSNH has
basically followed the directives the Commission laid out in
Order No. 22,999 with this particular proposal. CLF does not
anticipate challenging the 1999 funding level by suggesting that
it be raised dramatically given the Energy Efficiency Working
Group's current discussions. However, CLF stated that it retains
the right to suggest certain additions to the funding and
certainly would take the position that the budget PSNH has
suggested is the absolute minimum acceptable to CLF.
OCA stated that it has some general concerns regarding
the cost-effectiveness of the proposed programs.
Staff stated that its issues concern the recovery of
C&LM costs, particularly with PSNH's request to increase base
rates. Staff believes that the filing was deficient in not
providing the cost-effectiveness analysis and details supporting
the proposed budget. Staff stated it needs additional
information regarding the traditional programs and market
transformation initiatives that PSNH proposes to continue. Staff
questioned the appropriateness of Lost Fixed Costs Recovery for
market transformation initiatives and whether PSNH should be
entitled to recovery of Lost Fixed Costs associated with measures
installed for new accounts. Finally, Staff also questioned the
existence of a cross-subsidization caused by the limited
expansion of residential programs in August 1998 and the way the
programs are currently being funded.
II. COMMISSION ANALYSIS
We find the proposed procedural schedule, as modified
by the parties, to be reasonable and will, therefore, approve it
for the duration of the case. Additionally, we will grant the
motions to intervene filed by CLF, ECS, and DES.
Based upon the foregoing, it is hereby
ORDERED, that the procedural schedule delineated above
is APPROVED; and it is
FURTHER ORDERED, that the motions to intervene filed by
the Conservation Law Foundation, the Governor's Office of Energy
and Community Services, and the New Hampshire Department of
Environmental Services, Air Resources Division are GRANTED.
By order of the Public Utilities Commission of New
Hampshire this thirteenth day of November, 1998.
Douglas L. Patch Susan S. Geiger Nancy Brockway
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner
Attested by:
Thomas B. Getz
Executive Director and Secretary