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Show Pmblic Service Commissioner Addresses Meet cost and impossibility of determining determin-ing how much should go to whom. Instead, those funds will be deducted de-ducted from the next rate increase approved. THE PSC trio also serve six, staggered terms and are approved by the Utah State Senate. Both political parties must be represented. repre-sented. Other members are Brent Cameron, also an attorney and James Byrne, a nuclear engineer. By TOM BUSSELBERG I BOUNTIFUL - One of three : men holding among the least popu- lar positions in Utah spoke to the . Davis County senior citizens mini- - conference, last week. - PUBLIC SERVICE Com. Dave Irvine emphasized "we're very conscious of the pain w e impose on : residents, commercial and industrial indust-rial customers. Company manage- "- ment often feels we're in the pock-: pock-: et of the consumers, and consum-. consum-. ers often feel we're in the pocket of the managers. We don't make any- one happy about the cost of utility - service." Briefly outlining the many-pronged many-pronged process that ends up in - utility rates, the former assistant . state attorney general compared it to a legal trial. Attorneys from the utility, state and consumer groups - often are involved in what often takes eight-1 5 months with testi- : mony solicited for nearly a month, ; many times. : "WHEN THE (utility rate) re- : quest is filed, the utility's books are audited by the state. We may ask for management studies and a spe- : cial audit. All sides can express their opinions and testimony is sought from the public and we deli- : berate a decision at the end." Beyond that, "formalized findings find-ings of fact-a legal conclusion" are presented, 30-60 pages long. "If a : party is dis-satisfied, they can : appeal to the state Supreme Court." He emphasized PSC deci-sions deci-sions are "not arbitrary-they're a . careful attempt to reach a fair, just and reasonable decision." BUT "ONE primary concern" is to "determine what the cost to the utility will be-not just a fair rate of return but how it (rate) will be charged to the different customers." cus-tomers." He explained that most of any rate increase goes for construction, especially in Utah's fast-growing scenario for new plants, pipes or whatever. Then, "when we set the rate of return, the cost of doing business-expenses a company reasonably expects, labor, fuel, de preciation, etc." must be considered consi-dered with "reasonable return" not allowed for lobbying costs, for example. The same goes for advertising adver-tising or shareholder publications, he told a group of about 100. A "REASONABLE" rate of return re-turn is considered based on what the geographical area could offer an investor but he cited an instance several years ago where Mountain Fuel was able to provide only about ab-out a three percent return. The firms must receive adequate return or they could go nearly "bust" like Public Service Company Com-pany of New Hampshire, Mr. Irvine noted, stressing that reality could've occured for Utah Power and Light as well, had the massive Intermountain Power Project not been halved. ENERGY COSTS have brought numerous rate requests since the mid-1970's, he said, but history shows that for 30 years after the PSC's founding in 1917, UP&L never sought an increase. Instead, they were able to reduce rates. Thanks to the Arab Oil Embargo and Congressional changes that lifted price controls to stimulate more domestic exploration, prices charged utilities for power supplies have risen. Two-thirds of Mountain Fuel's energy supplies come from the marketplace-they must pay the price or go without, Mr. Irvine stressed, emphasizing congressmen congress-men should be contacted about current price levels because they supported legislation freeing up the controls. THANKS TO the federal Justice Department ruling, telephone service ser-vice could also jump two or close to three times, in price, he said further, furth-er, relating how new telephone firms want to grab the "cream" from long distance services, leaving leav-ing nothing to support basic local service from home to the grocery store. Asked why customers didn't receive re-ceive refunds from utilities, such as in the recent award to Mountain Fuel from suppliers who courts said over-charged, Mr. Irvine cited |