Report 2012-118 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041
Report 2012-118: California Public Utilities Commission: Despite Administrative Weaknesses, It Has Generally Awarded Compensation to Intervenors in Accordance With State Law
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Utilities Commission | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Recommendation To: Public Utilities Commission
The commission should determine the cause of its lack of compliance with state law requiring it to issue award decisions within 75 days of the date an intervenor submits a compensation claim, and it should determine what actions to take to rectify the problem. The commission should ensure that it has sufficient information, such as detailed tracking information regarding claims, to identify where in the process delays are occurring. If the commission determines that the current 75-day statutory period is unreasonable, it should seek a change in state law.
Response
The Commission (CPUC) believes that it has fully implemented this recommendation. The CPUC has determined the cause of its lack of compliance with state law requiring it to resolve claims within 75 days of filing (See 60-day status report), and implemented actions to rectify the problem (See 60-day, 6-month and one-year reports). The CPUC has increased intervenor compensation staff support to more quickly reduce/eliminate the current backlog, and implemented detailed tracking of claims to identify processing delays. The CPUC handles claims on a "first-in-first-processed" basis and, as a result, the backlog must be substantially reduced before the CPUC will be able to consistently resolve claims within 75 days. However, the backlog has been substantially reduced, and the CPUC is beginning to resolve some claims within 75 days. During the one year period since our last report on October 6, 2014, the CPUC resolved 62% more claims than for the same period in 2013-2014 (162 vs. 115), and has reduced the number of pending claims by more than half (from 131 to 49). By maintaining the current level of staff support, the CPUC anticipates that it will be able to eliminate the backlog of claims within the next year and thereafter be able to consistently resolve most claims within 75 days. This progress demonstrates that our efforts to implement this recommendation have been successful. Therefore, the CPUC requests that the State Auditor find that the CPUC has fully implemented this recommendation.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Partially Implemented
- Estimated Completion Date: July 2014
- Response Date: October 2015
Recommendation To: Public Utilities Commission
To comply fully with state law, the commission should conduct a comprehensive market rate study and update it periodically.
Response
The CPUC cannot fully implement the State Auditor's recommendation to conduct a periodically updated comprehensive market rate study until such time that funds are available for this purpose. The CPUC will continue to evaluate the availability of funds and its budget constraints along with other statutory obligations as it seeks to implement this recommendation.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: not available
- Response Date: September 2015