PSC-19-08-00010-P Major Rate Filing by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.

5/7/08 N.Y. St. Reg. PSC-19-08-00010-P

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXX, ISSUE 19

May 07, 2008

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION

PROPOSED RULE MAKING

HEARING(S) SCHEDULED

 

I.D No. PSC-19-08-00010-P

Major Rate Filing by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:

Proposed action:

The Public Service Commission is considering whether to approve or reject or modify, in whole or in part, a proposal filed by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. to make various changes in the rates, charges, rules and regulations contained in its schedule for electric service—P.S.C. No. 2. The statutory suspension period of the filing runs through July 6, 2008.

Statutory authority:

Public Service Law, section 80(10)

Subject:

Major rate filing.

Purpose:

To consider a proposal to increase annual electric revenues by approximately $47.8 million which represents a 7.7 percent average increase including an estimated supply cost. The average transmission and delivery rate increase would be approximately 25.5 percent.

Public hearing(s) will be held at:

3:00 p.m., May 21, 2008* at Ramapo Town Hall, Council Rm., 237 Rte. 59, Suffern, NY; 7:30 p.m., May 21, 2008* at Rockland County Legislative Chamber, 11 New Hempstead Rd., New City, NY; 7:00 p.m., May 22, 2008* at Middletown Thrall Library, Meeting Rm., 11–19 Depot St., Middletown, NY; and 1:00 p.m., May 27, 2008* at Orange County Legislative Chamber, 255 Main St., 3rd Fl., Goshen, NY.

*On occasion there are requests to reschedule or postpone evidentiary hearing dates. If such a request is granted, notification of any subsequent scheduling changes will be available at the DPS Web Site (www.dps.state.ny.us) under Case 07-E-0949.

Accessibility:

All public hearings have been scheduled at places reasonably accessible to persons with a mobility impairment.

Interpreter Service:

Interpreter services will be made available to deaf persons, at no charge, upon written request submitted within reasonable time prior to the scheduled public hearing. The written request must be addressed to the agency representative designated in the paragraph below.

Substance of proposed rule:

On August 10, 2007, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) made a tariff filing to increase its annual electric revenues by approximately $47.8 million which represents a 7.7% average increase over total electric revenues including those for commodity. The average transmission and delivery rate increase would be approximately 25.5%. O&R also proposed provisions for a multi-year rate plan that addresses revenue requirement for an additional two-year period: $10.0 and $5.1 million for the years ending June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

O&R and several other parties filed a document on April 18, 2008 reflecting their common contention that O&R needs additional annual electric delivery revenues of $23.287 million, $9.526 million, and $4.057 million for the three years starting July 1, 2008, July 1, 2009 and July 1, 2010. They propose that the additional needed revenue be recovered gradually over three years, allowing annual revenue increases of $15.591 million per year. The recent proposal also includes terms concerning all aspects of revenue requirement, the allocation of revenue requirement among classes, the design of rates within customer classes, and increases to service fees and other charges in tariffs. Proposals for an energy service company referral program, a low-income program, an energy efficiency program, and customer service and reliability programs are also included.

The statutory suspension period for the August 2007 filing runs through July 6, 2008. The Commission may adopt in whole or in part or reject terms set forth in O&R's August 2007 proposal and in the parties' April 18, 2008 proposal.

Text of proposed rule may be obtained from:

Elaine Lynch, Public Service Commission, Bldg. 3, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350, [phone]

Data, views or argument may be submitted to:

Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Bldg. 3, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350, [phone]

Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement

Statements and analyses are not submitted with this notice because the proposed rule is within the definition contained in section 102(2)(a)(ii) of the State Administrative Procedure Act.

(07-E-0909SA1)