BEFORE THE WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND ) TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION, ) DOCKET NO. UG-970932 ) Complainant, ) ) v. ) ) NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS ) FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL RDER COMPANY, ) ON PREHEARING ) CONFERENCE Respondent. ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) PREHEARING CONFERENCE: The Commission convened a prehearing conference in this matter on Wednesday, September 17, 1997, at Olympia, Washington, before Administrative Law Judge C. Robert Wallis of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (Commission). APPEARANCES: The following parties entered appearances: Susan Bergles for Northwest Natural Gas Company (NWNG or Company); Robert D. Cedarbaum, Assistant Attorney General for Staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (Commission Staff); Robert F. Manifold, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Public Counsel Section (Public Counsel); and Paula Pyron, attorney, Portland, for Northwest Industrial Gas Users (NWIGU). Attached to this order is a list of the parties’ representatives; their business addresses; their voice and facsimile telephone numbers; and their electronic mail (e-mail) addresses. Any changes in this list, corrections, and information for any persons not appearing at the conference, must be provided by letter and by e-mail to others on the list and filed with the Commission. INTERVENTIONS: The Commission heard the request to intervene submitted by NWIGU. The Company, Commission Staff and Public Counsel raised no objections to the petition, which demonstrates an interest in the proceeding and is granted. SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS: The parties stated that they have been engaged in settlement discussions and have reached agreement in principle that would result in an increase in rates of approximately 2.8% overall. The following schedule is predicated on the parties’ successfully completing negotiations for that settlement and upon the Commission’s acceptance of the settlement, in whole or in substantial part. It is recognized that neither of those eventualities is guaranteed, and that failure of either will require adjustments to the schedule. The parties have agreed to submit a recommended form of order with any proposed settlement. Parties are directed to file an electronic copy of the settlement package, on one or more IBM-formatted 3.5-inch diskettes, in WordPerfect version 6.1 or lower, with any spreadsheet presentations in Lotus 1-2-3 version 5 or lower. SCHEDULE: The following schedule is adopted for this proceeding: Parties File a Completed Settlement Agreement October 3, 1997 PUBLIC and EVIDENTIARY HEARING October 20, 1997 Expected Entry of a Commission Order October 24, 1997 Anticipated Effect of Rates November 1, 1997 PUBLIC AND EVIDENTIARY HEARING: The Commission will schedule a single hearing for comment from members of the public on October 20, 1997, beginning at 11:00 a.m., in Vancouver, Washington. If a settlement is achieved among the parties, the hearing will begin with the parties’ presentation of the settlement to the Commission, with Company and Commission Staff witnesses describing elements of the agreement and explaining why the settlement meets Company needs and is consistent with the public interest and with the pertinent standards for approving rate increase requests. The parties will assign numbers to the exhibits they will be presenting, in the order of expected presentation, as a part of their settlement agreement. Separate notice of this hearing shall be issued. DISCOVERY: The parties see no need for discovery provisions in this order inasmuch as they have been voluntarily exchanging information sufficient for settlement negotiations. PROTECTIVE ORDER: No protective order is needed at the present time. NUMBER OF COPIES: All pleadings shall be filed with the Commission in multiple copies to enable Commission Staff persons who need them the opportunity to work with them. For purposes of a settlement in this docket, the number is an original plus 14 copies. If additional evidence is to be prefiled, the party filing the documents should consult with the presiding officer to determine the number of needed copies. COMMUNICATION BY E-MAIL: Parties’ representatives provided their electronic mail addresses. If parties wish to receive service from other parties via electronic mail, they should provide a written statement to that effect to the Commission, with a copy to the other parties. Parties are encouraged to provide courtesy copies to each other and to the Commission via electronic mail. For those purposes, e-mail may be addressed to the presiding Administrative Law Judge at . NOTICE TO PARTIES: Any objection to the provisions of this order must be filed within ten days after its service date, pursuant to WAC 480-09-460(2). In the absence of objection, this prehearing conference order shall control further proceedings in this matter, subject to Commission review and/or later change. DATED at Olympia, Washington, and effective this 22nd day of September, 1997. WASHINGTON UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION C. ROBERT WALLIS Administrative Law Judge PARTIES’ REPRESENTATIVES DOCKET NO. UG-970932 Northwest Natural Gas Company: Susan Ackerman and Susan Bergles, 220 NW Second Avenue, Portland, OR 97209, Voice (Ackerman) 503-721-2452; Fax 503-721-2532; E-mail ; and Voice (Bergles) 503-220-2404; Fax 503-721-2516; E-mail . Commission Staff: Robert D. Cedarbaum, Assistant Attorney General, 1400 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, WA 98504. Voice 360-664-1188; Fax 360-586-5522; E-mail . Public Counsel: Robert F. Manifold, Assistant Attorney General, Public Counsel, 900 Fourth Avenue, Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98164; Voice 206-464-6595; Fax 206-464-6451; E-mail . Northwest Industrial Gas Users: Paula Pyron, attorney, Ball Janik LLP, One Main Place, 101 SW Main Street, Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97204-3219; Voice 503-228-2525; Fax 503-295-1058; E-mail . Presiding Officer: C. Robert Wallis, Administrative Law Judge, WUTC, 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, WA 98504. Voice 360-664-1142; Fax 360-664-2654 [NOT for official filings with the Commission, which should be directed to 360-586-1150]; E-mail .