BEFORE THE
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
OF THE STATE
OF MISSOURI
In the Matter of
the Joint Application of Brandco )
Investments, LLC
and Hillcrest Utility Operating )
Company, Inc., for
Hillcrest to Acquire Certain ) File
No. WO-2014-0340 et al.
Water and Sewer
Assets of Brandco and, Inc. )
Connection
Therewith, Issue Indebtedness and )
Encumber Assets )
Issue Date: September 15, 2014 Effective Date: September 15, 2014
On
May 13, 2014, Brandco Investments, LLC and Hillcrest Utility Operating Company,
Inc., filed an application asking the Commission to approve Hillcrest’s
acquisition of the water and sewer assets of Brandco, and to grant Hillcrest a
certificate to operate those assets as a public utility. On August 26, the
Commission’s Staff recommended the Commission approve the transfer and grant
the certificate, subject, however, to certain financial conditions that
Hillcrest has found unacceptable. To give
the Commission an opportunity to swiftly resolve their disagreement, Staff,
acting on behalf of Hillcrest and Public Counsel, has filed a jointly proposed
procedural schedule.
After
considering the jointly proposed procedural schedule, the Commission concludes
that the proposed schedule is appropriate.
THE COMMISSION
ORDERS THAT:
1. The following procedural schedule is established:
Company
files Direct Testimony - September 19, 2014
Local
Public Hearing Held - September 24, 2014
Staff
and Public Counsel file Rebuttal
Testimony - October 3, 2014
Any
Party may file Surrebuttal
Testimony - October 17, 2014
Joint
List of Issues - October 23, 2014
Statements
of Position - October 27, 2014
Evidentiary
Hearing - October 29, 2014, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Post-hearing
briefs - November 7, 2014
2. The parties shall comply with the following procedural requirements:
(A) Testimony shall be prefiled as defined in
Commission Rule 4 CSR 240‑2.130.
All parties must comply with this rule, including the requirement that
testimony be filed on line‑numbered pages.
(B) The parties shall agree upon and Staff
shall file a list of the issues to be heard, the witnesses to appear on each
day of the hearing, the order in which they will be called, and the order of
cross‑examination for each witness.
The list of issues should be detailed enough to inform the Commission of
each issue that must be resolved. The
Commission will view any issue not contained in this list of issues as
uncontested and not requiring resolution by the Commission.
(C) Each
party shall file a simple and concise statement summarizing its position on
each disputed issue.
(D) All
pleadings, briefs, and amendments shall be filed in accordance with Commission
Rule 4 CSR 240‑2.080. Briefs shall
follow the same list of issues as filed in the case and must set forth and cite
the proper portions of the record concerning the remaining unresolved issues
that are to be decided by the Commission.
(E) All
parties shall bring an adequate number of copies of exhibits that they intend
to offer into evidence at the hearing.
If an exhibit has not been prefiled, the party offering it must bring,
in addition to the copy for the court reporter, a copy for each Commissioner,
the Presiding Judge, and all counsel.
3. Response times to data requests shall be five business days to respond, three business days to object, and three business days to notify the requesting party of the need for additional time to respond.
4. The hearing shall be held at the Commission’s office at the Governor Office Building, Room 310, 200 Madison Street, Jefferson City, Missouri. This building meets accessibility standards required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need additional accommodations to participate in this hearing, please call the Public Service Commission’s Hotline at 1-800-392-4211 (voice) or Relay Missouri at 711 before the hearing.
5. This order shall become effective upon issuance.
BY THE COMMISSION
Morris L.
Woodruff
Secretary
Morris L. Woodruff, Chief Law Judge,
by delegation of authority
pursuant to Section 386.240, RSMo 2000.
Dated at Jefferson City, Missouri,
on this 15th day of September, 2014.