Commission General Order 96-B

General Order 96-B is the Commission order that contains the various rules that govern Advice Letters submittals, including:

•  Service of an Advice Letter;
•  Customer notice requirements;
•  Grounds for protests; and
•  Disposition (either the grant, modification, or rejection) of the relief requested in an Advice Letter.   

 The rules are divided between General Rules applicable across all the utility industries and the Water Industry Rules specific to water and sewer Advice Letters. 

 Advice Letters are categorized into classifications referred to as tiers (Tier 1, 2, or 3) depending on the scope of the Advice Letter request. 

 Tier 1 and 2 Advice Letters are:

•  Compliance matters generally addressing tariff implementation with respect to statute or Commission order, or

• To be disposed of by Water Division staff following a ministerial review to assure the request is within the scope of what has been authorized by statutes or Commission orders, or

•  Any protests received are resolved by Water Division staff through a written disposition letter. 

 Whenever determination of an Advice Letter requires more than ministerial review, the Advice Letter is classified as a Tier 3 and the disposition of the Advice Letter on the merits will be by a vote of the Commission through a resolution considered at a public meeting of the Commission. 

 For example, general rate cases for Class B, C, and D water and sewer utilities are processed through a Tier 3 Advice Letter.  A listing of tier classifications of Advice Letters can be found at General Order 96-B, Water Industry Rule 7.3.