344 Technical conference and evidentiary hearings regarding transportation assessments doc. no. I-2008-2022003

Technical Conference and Evidentiary Hearings Regarding Transporation Assessments Doc. No. I-2008-2022003

[38 Pa.B. 1029]
[Saturday, February 23, 2008]

   At the public meeting held November 8, 2007, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) approved assessment factors for transportation utilities based on the use of three utility groups. The utility groups used were: passenger motor carriers, property motor carriers and railroads. The result of using three utility groups has lowered the assessments for property motor carriers and substantially increased the assessments for passenger carriers and railroads. Objections have been filed by passenger motor carriers and railroads challenging their increased assessments.

   By order adopted February 14, 2008, the Commission directed that a ''Generic Investigation Regarding Transportation Assessments'' be initiated at Docket No. I-2008-2022003 and that a technical conference and evidentiary hearings be held to provide an open forum in which interested stakeholders can address issues surrounding an equitable allocation of the Commission's costs of regulating the transportation industry before the allocation is finalized for Fiscal Year 2007-2008.

   Accordingly, the Commission has referred all timely filed objections to the Office of Administrative Law Judge (OALJ) for hearing and decision. In addition, the Commission has directed OALJ to convene, on March 19, 2008, an on-the-record technical conference regarding transportation assessments, at which any interested person may participate by way of comments and/or sworn testimony. The technical conference will be held in Hearing Room No. 1, Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA, commencing at 10 a.m. The Fiscal Office and interested parties must prefile their comments or sworn testimony (original and nine copies) on or before March 14, 2008, addressed to Secretary, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, P. O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265 and referencing the previous docket number.

   At the technical conference, the participants will be organized into panels for purposes of making presentations to the Commission. Witnesses who prepared testimony will be sworn, the testimony identified for the record and the witness will be given the opportunity to provide a summary of the testimony. The witness will be subject to questions from the Commissioners.

   In addition, OALJ will assign an ALJ who will hold the further evidentiary hearings as may be necessary to address and resolve any generic issues regarding transportation assessments (such as, utility groupings, computation of direct hours, and the like) raised in the technical conference and individual objections, and may assign other ALJs to address utility-specific issues (such as, intrastate revenues, timeliness of objections, and the like). Petitions to intervene in the generic issues proceeding must be filed no later March 10, 2008, and should reference the previous docket number. The prehearing conference for this generic proceeding will be held on March 14, 2008.

   The ALJ assigned to handle the technical conference and generic issues will schedule any further hearings, as necessary, and establish a briefing schedule that will enable the Commission to render a final adjudication on allocation of the transportation assessment by the public meeting scheduled for June 12, 2008.

   Due to the generic nature of the allocation issues that are expected to be raised, all assessments paid by transportation utilities for Fiscal Year 2007-2008, either in full or under the installment plan permitted by Commission order, are subject to reconciliation, refund and/or reassessment as may be directed in the Commission's final order following the technical conference and generic issues hearings.

Generic Investigation Regarding Transportation Assessments

Docket No. I-2008-2022003

Notice

   An initial prehearing conference on the previous-captioned case will be held as follows:

   Type:  Initial Prehearing Conference

   Date:  Friday, March 14, 2008

   Time:  10 a.m.

   Location:  Hearing Room 1, Plaza Level, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120

   Presiding:  Administrative Law Judge Wayne L. Weismandel, P. O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265, [phone], fax [phone]

   If you are a person with a disability, and you wish to attend the prehearing, we may be able to make arrangements for your special needs. Please call the scheduling office at the Public Utility Commission at least 2 business days prior to your hearing:

   Scheduling Office:  [phone]

   AT&T Relay Service number for persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired [phone]

JAMES J. MCNULTY,   
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-344. Filed for public inspection February 22, 2008, 9:00 a.m.]