[LADWP Business Practice] Procedures for Public Participation in Tariff Changes for the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles. Sec.

Transcription

1 1 Sec. [LADWP Business Practice] Procedures for Public Participation in Tariff Changes for the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles 1. Purpose and scope; application. 2. Definitions. 3. Advance announcement of Rate Adjustment or Major Tariff Change. 4. Notice of Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. 5. Consultation and comment period. 6. Public information forums. 7. Public comment forums. 8. [Reserved]Informal public meetings for Minor Rate Adjustments and Minor Tariff Changes. 9. Revision of Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. 10. Completion of Proposed Rate or Proposed Tariff Change development. 11. Dispute of the General Manager s Certification. 12. Tariff review and approval. 1. Purpose and scope; application. (a) Except as otherwise provided herein, this business practice establishes opportunities for Stakeholders to participate in the development of transmission and ancillary service rates or other, terms orand conditions of the open access transmission tariff (OATT or Tariff) of the Department of Water and Power of the City of Los Angeles (Department or LADWP). The procedures established herein will be followed by LADWP prior to proposing Tariff rates, terms, and/or conditions for approval by the Board and/or City Council in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Los Angeles City Charter and Administrative Code, and the placement of approved rates, terms, and/or conditions into effect. 1

2 2 (b) These procedures shall apply to all Tariff amendments and Tariff transmission and ancillary service rate adjustment proceedings before the Board and/or City Council that are commenced after this business practice becomes effective or were in process on the effective date of this business practice. (c) These procedures may be amended from time to time in accordance with LADWP s protocols for amending business practices. (d) These procedures do not apply to retail rates, or rates for wholesale sales of capacity or energy. 2. Definitions. As used herein (a) Board means the Board of Water and Power Commissioners of LADWP. (b) Chairperson means a person designated by the General Manager to manage the Tariff rate development process. (c) City Council means the City Council of the City of Los Angeles, California. (d) General Manager means the General Manager of LADWP, or his or her delegate acting in such capacity. (e) LADWP Representatives means employees, counsel and consultants of the City of Los Angeles, California, including LADWP. (f) Major Rate Adjustment means a rate adjustment that must be approved by the Board and/or City Council other than a Minor rate adjustment. The distinction between Major Rate Adjustments and Minor Rate Adjustments, including all related provisions in this Business Practice, will not be implemented before July 1, 2017; any rate adjustment during that period before July 1, 2017 shall be treated as if it meets the definition of Major Rate Adjustment. (g) Major Tariff Change means a change to Tariff terms and/or conditions that must be approved by the Board and/or City Council other than a Minor Tariff changechange. (h) Minor Rate Adjustment means a rate adjustment that must be approved by the Board and/or City Council which will produce less than or equal to four (4) percent change in the annual revenues from OATT servicesone (1) percent change in the annual revenues from OATT services. The distinction between Major Rate Adjustments and Minor Rate Adjustments, including all provisions in Comment [LLP1]: The distinction between Minor and Major Tariff Changes is self-curing and unnecessary. First, if LADWP announces a Tariff Change, and gets little-to-no feedback, then the result is by definition a Minor Change. Second, it is entirely possible that a Tariff Change could be minor to one Customer and major to another. 2

3 3 this Business Practice, will not be implemented before July 1, 2017; any rate adjustment during that period before July 1, 2017 shall be treated as if it meets the definition of Major Rate Adjustment. Any cumulative Minor Rate Adjustments that exceed four (4) percent in any calendar year will automatically prompt a new Major Rate Adjustment proceeding and the associated Notice requirements. (i) Minor Tariff Change means a change to the terms or conditions of the Tariff that must be approved by the Board and/or City Council which will not materially affect the rates, terms and conditions of transmission or ancillary services provided under the Tariff. (i) [Reserved] (j) Notice means the statement ed to Stakeholders and posted to OASIS that informs Stakeholders and the general public of Proposed Rates or, proposed rate extensions, proposed Tariff Changes, opportunities for consultation and comment, and public forums. The Notice shall be effective on the date of posting on OASIS. Whenever a time period is provided, the date of posting on OASIS shall determine the commencement of the time period, unless otherwise provided in the Notice. The Notice shall include the contact information of the person to contact if participation or further information is sought. (k) OASIS means the Open Access Same Time Information System of LADWP, available currently at: (l) Proposed Rate(s) means a rate revision or a new rate for services under the Tariff that is under consideration by LADWP. (m) Proposed Tariff Change(s) means a Major Tariff changechange that is under consideration by LADWP. (n) Rate means the monetary charge or the formula for computing such a charge for any Tariff service provided by LADWP, including but not limited to charges for transmission and ancillary services. A rate will be set forth in a Tariff rate schedule. (o) Rate Adjustment means a change in an existing rate or rates for service under the Tariff, or the establishment of a rate or rates for a new Tariff service. Rate Adjustments do not include proposed changes to the inputs to an existing index or formula stated in a Tariff rate schedule that result in a is outside the control of LADWP. However, if such change in the monetary charge by applyingwould materially alter the formula in acommercial arrangements associated with or 3

4 4 arising from LADWP s Tariff, rate schedulethe proposed change would constitute a Rate Adjustment. (p) Rate Schedule means a document identified as a schedule in LADWP s Tariff which designates the maximum rate or rates applicable to a class of service specified therein and may contain other terms and conditions relating to the service. (q) Stakeholder means Transmission Customers or Eligible Customers, as such terms are defined in LADWP s Tariff, or a person, group, or organization that has either: subscribed to notifications via the OATI E-Notice at mer_e-notice; or registered their contact information with LADWP by to oattstakeholder@ladwp.com (with a cc. to Sueyen.McMahon@ladwp.com) of its interest in participating in the Tariff or rate development process. 3. Advance announcement of Rate Adjustment or Major Tariff Change. In the event that LADWP proposes the development of rates for a new service, revised rates for an existing service, and/or the consideration of a Major Tariff Change, the General Manager, mayshall make an advance announcement in accordance with the terms of this 3. The announcement shall contain pertinent and reasonably detailed information relevant to the Rate Adjustment and/or Major Tariff changechange. The announcement shall be through posting on OASIS and direct contact with Stakeholders. The announcement may also be made in public meetings, by press release, and/or by newspaper advertisement. Written comments relevant to rate policy and design and to the rate adjustment process, or Major Tariff changechange may be submitted by Stakeholders in response to the announcement. Any comments received shall be considered in the development of Proposed Rates and other Tariff terms and conditions. Any proposal by LADWP related to a Tariff Change will be accompanied by a posting and distribution of the proposed changes in black-line format. 4. Notice of Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. (a) The General Manager shall give Notice to Stakeholders that Proposed Rates or a Proposed Tariff Change has been prepared and is under consideration. The Notice shall include: (i) The Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change; 4

5 5 (ii) An explanation of the need for and derivation of the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change, including but not limited to, a complete Cost-of- Service Study (COSS), all supporting documentation and a summary of the COSS that shows with specificity each category of costs associated with current and Proposed Rates and charges; (iii) The location(s) at which data, studies, reports, or other documents (collectively, documents ) used in developing the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change will be posted on the internet, and the physical location where such documents shall be made available to Stakeholders for inspection and/or copying and any non-disclosure agreement(s) that LADWP demonstrates are necessary for LADWP to provide access to the aforementioned documents (the form of which shall be posted on LADWP s OASIS and agreed upon by stakeholders before the posting of this Business Practice); (iv) The dates, times, and locations of any initially scheduled public forums; and (v) Address to which written comments relative to the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change and requests to be informed of LADWP actions may be submitted. (b) Upon request, Stakeholders will be provided with copies of the principal documents (in their native electronic formats, to the extent possible) used in developing the Proposed Rates) used in developing the Proposed Rates. Any proposal by LADWP related to a Tariff Change will be accompanied by a posting and distribution of the proposed changes in black-line format. LADWP will negotiate provisions in agreements with vendors ensuring that any vendor providing or using proprietary software agrees to share the inputs and results of associated studies in native format with Stakeholders who have executed nondisclosure agreements. 5. Consultation and comment period. (a) Stakeholders will have the opportunity to consult with and obtain information from LADWP, to examine backup data, and to make suggestions for modification of the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change after the Notice is published on OASISfirst public information forum for a period ending: (i) forty-five (45) dayssixty (60) Business Days in the case of Major Rate Adjustments or Major Tariff Changes; 5

6 6 (ii) fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days in the case of Minor Rate Adjustments or Minor Tariff Changes; (iii) fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days after any answer which may be provided pursuant to Section 6(c); (iv) fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days in the case of any revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change pursuant to Section 9; (v) fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days after the close of the last public forum; or (vi) such other time as the General Manager or Chairperson may designate; whichever is laterlatest. At any time during the relevant period described above, Stakeholders may submit written comments to LADWP regarding the Proposed Rates and/or Proposed Tariff Change. The General Manager or Chairperson may shorten the periods described above for good cause shown, or may provide additional time for the submission of written rebuttal comments from Stakeholders. All timely received written comments shall be publicly posted at a designated internet site. (b) Prior to the action described in Section 10, the General Manager or Chairperson may, by appropriate announcement postpone any procedural date, or make other procedural changes for good cause shown by any Stakeholder. The General Manager or Chairperson shall maintain, and distribute on request, a list of Stakeholders., including contact information (e.g., mailing address, address and telephone number). 6. Public information forums. (a) One or more public information forums shall be held for Major rate adjustments or Major Tariff changeschanges, except as otherwise provided in Section 6(e), and may be held for Minor rate adjustments or Minor Tariff changeschanges to explain and answer questions concerning the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change and the basis and justification for the proposal. The first public information forum for Major rate adjustments or Tariff Changes shall be held within fifteen (15) Business Days of the General Manager giving Notice to Stakeholders of Proposed Rate or a Proposed Tariff Change. (b) The number, dates, and locations of such forums will be determined by the General Manager or Chairperson in accordance with the anticipated or 6

7 7 demonstrated interest in the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. Notice to Stakeholders shall be given no later than ten (10) Business Days in advance of such forums. A public information forum may be combined with a public comment forum held in accordance with Section 7. (c) Questions raised at the forum concerning the Proposed Rates and the studies or Proposed Tariff Change shall be answered by LADWP Representatives at the forum, at a subsequent forum, orand in writing no later than fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days before the end of the consultation and comment period. However, questions that involve voluminous data contained in LADWP records, or data embedded in proprietary software that LADWP licenses, may require Stakeholders to execute non-disclosure agreements or may be answered by providing an opportunity for consultation and for a review of the records at LADWP offices. LADWP will ensure that any vendor providing or using proprietary software agrees to share the inputs and results of associated studies in native format with Stakeholders who have executed non-disclosure agreements. (d) At a minimum, the proceedings of the forum held at the principal location shall be transcribed or otherwise recorded. Copies of all documents introduced, and of questions and written answers shall be posted at a designated internet location for inspection and download. Copies of the transcript or recording may be obtained from the transcribing service or other service provider. (e) No public information forum need be held for Rate adjustments or Tariff Change if, after the General Manager or Chairperson has given Notice of a scheduled forum, no person indicates in writing by a prescribed date an intent to appear at such public forum. 7. Public comment forums. (a) One or more public comment forums shall be held for Major Rate Adjustments and Major Tariff Changes, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c) of this section, and may be held for Minor rate adjustments, to provide Stakeholders an opportunity for oral presentation of views, data, and arguments regarding the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. The number, dates, and locations of such forums will be determined by the General Manager or Chairperson in accordance with the anticipated or demonstrated interest in the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. Notice shall be given at least fifteen (15) daysbusiness Days in advance of the first public comment forum at each location and shall include the purpose, date, time, place, and other information relative to the 7

8 8 forum, as well as the internet location where pertinent documents are available for examination and/or download. (b) At the forum, LADWP Representatives may question those persons making oral statements and comments. The Chairperson shall allow the participation of interested Stakeholders and have discretion to establish the sequence of, and the time limits for, oral presentations and to determine if the comments are relevant and noncumulative. The Chairperson shall have the discretion to limit Stakeholders comments that are not germane to the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. Forum proceedings shall be transcribed or otherwise recorded. After the forum, copies of all documents introduced shall be posted at a designated internet location for inspection and download. Copies of the transcript or recording may be obtained from the transcribing service or other service provider. (c) No public comment forum need be held for Major rate adjustments or Major Tariff changechange if, after the General Manager or Chairperson has given notice of a scheduled forum, no person indicates in writing by a prescribed date an intent to appear at such public forum. 8. Informal public meetings for Minor Rate Adjustments and Minor Tariff Changes.[Reserved] In lieu of public information or comment forums in conjunction with a Minor Rate Adjustment or Minor Tariff Change, informal public meetings may be held if deemed appropriate by the General Manager or Chairperson. Stakeholders will be given Notice of such informal meetings, but such informal meetings will not require transcription. 9. Revision of Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. During or after the consultation and comment period and review of the oral and written comments on the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change, the General Manager or Chairperson may revise the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change. The General Manager or Chairperson shall afford Stakeholders time to submit further written comments to LADWP regarding the revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change in accordance with Section 5(a)(iv). The General Manager or Chairperson may convene one or more additional public information and/or public comment forums. The General Manager or Chairperson shall give no less than ten (10) daysbusiness Days Notice to Stakeholders of any such additional forums. 10. Completion of Proposed Rate or Proposed Tariff Change development. 8

9 9 (a) Following completion of the consultation and comment period and review of any oral and written comments on the Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Change, the General Manager or Chairperson may: (i) withdraw the proposal; or (ii) submit Tariff rates, terms and/or conditions which in the General Manager s judgment should be approved and placed into effect by the Board and City Council (the Tariff Proposal ). (b) If, following the completion of the consultation and comment period, the General Manager decides to submit Tariff Proposal for approval by the Board and City Council, the General Manager, with support from the Chairperson and LADWP Representatives, shall prepare, post on OASIS, and make available to Stakeholders a statement setting forth the principal factors on which the General Manager s decision was based. The statement shall include an explanation responding to the major comments, criticisms, and alternatives offered during the comment period. The General Manager shall certify that the rates of the Tariff Proposal were developed using traditional principles, processes and procedures of cost-of-service rate making ( General Manager s Certification ). ), and shall provide explanations for all departures from the FERC pro forma OATT. 11. Dispute of the General Manager s Certification. (a) Within ten (10) daysbusiness Days of the OASIS posting of the General Manager s Certification, any Stakeholder or group of Stakeholders may provide notice of its dispute of the General Manager s Certification by providing a written notice including a description of each disputed issue(s) and accompanied by supporting data, studies, and documents by to oattstakeholder@ladwp.com. (b) Within ten (10) daysbusiness Days after receiving a notice of dispute, representatives of LADWP shall meet with representatives of the disputing Stakeholder(s) and the representatives shall endeavor in good faith to resolve the dispute. (c) If the dispute is not resolved, LADWP and the Stakeholder may, but are not required to, submit the dispute to mediation or non-binding arbitration by mutual consent. The arbitrator or mediator shall be a recognized, neutral expert in the industry (e.g., a former FERC Administrative Law Judge). The arbitrator or mediator shall issue a written opinion on the dispute after the Parties have been afforded an opportunity to present their positions in writing. To the extent the arbitrator or mediator determines that (i) any aspect of the Proposed Rate or the underlying cost of service is inconsistent with the traditional principles, processes and procedures of cost-of-service rate making, or (ii) that any Proposed Tariff Change would violate the basic principles of open, non-discriminatory transmission 9

10 10 access to the LADWP transmission system, the arbitrator or mediator shall explain and justify this determination in a written opinion. The arbitrator or mediator will follow Federal case law and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ( FERC ) precedent for direction on whether the Proposed Rates and/or Proposed Tariff Changes are consistent with traditional principles, processes and procedures of cost-of-service rate making and with FERC precedent regarding open and nondiscriminatory transmission access. (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing, Stakeholders do not waive, release or relinquish any rights, claims, demands, claims for relief, causes of action or the like, whether arising at law, under contract, in tort, in equity, or otherwise by participating in this voluntary dispute resolution process. 12. Tariff review and approval. (a) The General Manager will ensure that the applicable Tariff approval process is followed prior to such Tariff Proposal being submitted to the Board and City Council for approval. (b) The Tariff Proposal shall be accompanied with such supporting data, studies, and documents as the Board and City Council may require. The General Manager shall include in such submission: (i) the minutes of the forums; (ii) Stakeholders written questions and comments; (iii) LADWP s answers to written questions and comments from Stakeholders; (iv) the General Manager s Certification; (iv) the statement of principal factors leading to the decision; (v) a listing of those Stakeholders who have requested they be informed of LADWP actions concerning the Tariff rates, terms and/or conditions; (vi) a summary of any disputes of the General Manager s Certification; and (vii(vii) a copy of any and all documents related to section 11 hereof, including Stakeholder submissions and arbitration/mediation results (e.g., the arbitrator s or mediator s decision(s)); and 10

11 11 (viii) any other relevant information for the Board and City Council determination. (c) If the Board and City Council approve the Tariff Proposal, such approval shall be effective no earlier than the date such revised Tariff is posted on OASIS, or such later date as may be established by the General Manager. The General Manager may establish the effective date of any Tariff rate, term or condition approved by the Board and City Council to coincide with the beginning of the next billing period following the date the Tariff rate, term or condition was approved by the Board and City Council. (d) If the Board or City Council disapproves the Tariff Proposal, the General Manager may develop revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Changes that take into consideration the reasons given by the Board or City Council for such disapproval. The General Manager may provide for a public consultation and comment period before submitting the revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Changes to the Board and City Council. The General Manager will, upon request, provide Stakeholders with copies of the principal documents used in the development of the revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Changes. If the General Manager submits the revised Proposed Rates or Proposed Tariff Changes to the Board or City Council, the General Manager will include a statement explaining the General Manager s decision to accompany the submission. (e) A Tariff rate, term or condition approved by the Board and City Council shall remain in effect for such period or periods as the Board and City Council may provide or until a different Tariff rate, term or condition is approved and placed in effect. 11