STATE OF
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
At a session of the Public Service Commission held at its office in Jefferson City on the 27th day of August, 2014.
In the Matter of KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations )
Company’s Submission of its 2014 Renewable ) File No. EO-2014-0288
Energy Standard Compliance Plan )
Issue Date: August 27, 2014 Effective Date: August 27, 2014
On April 15, 2013, KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company (“GMO”) filed with the Missouri Public Service Commission (“Commission”) its 2014 Annual Renewable Energy Standard Compliance Plan (“Plan”) pursuant to Commission Rule 4 CSR 240‑20.100. The Commission granted limited intervention to Ag Processing, Inc., a cooperative (“Ag Processing”), and the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (“MOSEIA”). On June 27, 2014, Ag Processing filed a motion to compel responses to data requests that it had issued to MOSEIA.[1] Ag Processing alleges in its motion that MOSEIA failed to timely respond to the data requests by providing either an answer or an objection.
In its order granting intervention, the Commission limited that intervention to accessing the highly confidential versions of the renewable energy standard Plan. Commission Rule 4 CSR 240-20.100(7)(E) permits “any interested persons or entities” to file comments, which does not require intervention. The Commission noted, however, that access to the highly confidential version of the Plan would be likely to improve the quality of those comments and would serve the public interest, so limited intervention was granted in order to access that version.
Resolving the matter of Ag Processing’s motion to compel involves
a determination of Ag Processing’s authority to act under its limited
intervention status, including the authority to issue discovery. The use of data requests is governed by Commission
Rule 4 CSR 240-2.090(2), which provides that “[p]arties may use data requests
as a means for discovery”. In most
Commission cases, all parties would be able to use data requests as a method of
discovery to obtain information from another party. However, in this case, the Commission allowed
both Ag Processing and MOSEIA into the case as intervenors only to access highly confidential information
that GMO is required to file in this case.
The Commission concludes that when Ag Processing issued the data
requests to MOSEIA it exceeded its authority under the Commission’s order of
limited intervention, so the Commission will deny Ag Processing’s motion to
compel MOSEIA to provide answers to those data requests.
THE COMMISSION ORDERS THAT:
1. Ag Processing’s Motion to Compel Responses to Data Requests is denied.
2. This order shall become effective immediately upon issuance.
BY THE COMMISSION
Morris L.
Woodruff
Secretary
R. Kenney, Chm., Stoll, W. Kenney,
Hall, and Rupp, CC., concur.
Bushmann, Senior Regulatory Law Judge
[1] The Commission was delayed in ruling on
the motion to compel because of a Preliminary Order in Prohibition issued by
the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri on June 23, 2014 in Save our Lawfully Authorized Rebates, LLC,
Missouri Coalition for the Environment v. Mo. Public Service Commission, Case
No. 14AC-CC00316. That order was
recently vacated.