Report 2013-109 Recommendation 13 Responses

Report 2013-109: California Public Utilities Commission: Improved Monitoring of Balancing Accounts Would Better Ensure That Utility Rates Are Fair and Reasonable (Release Date: March 2014)

Recommendation #13 To: Public Utilities Commission

To ensure that findings and conclusions resulting from the reviews of balancing accounts are appropriate, complete, and supported, the commission's Division of Water and Audits should remind analysts to document their reviews properly and remind supervisors to formally indicate that they checked the accuracy and completeness of reviews.

60-Day Agency Response

The Division of Water and Audits has developed written balancing account review procedures for staff to follow in its review of utility balancing accounts. See documents for general procedures for balancing account and specific procedures related to review of WRAM/MCBA balancing accounts. In addition, the Division has developed a memorandum template to be used by all analysts reviewing utility balancing accounts that is intended to document the review process, as well as provide the analysts findings and conclusions from the review. A completed memorandum will be included in each work file involving a balancing account review. See the Balancing Account Review Memorandum Template to be used for all balancing account reviews. Finally, the Division of Water and Audits now requires all supervisors when signing off on the advice letter review route sheet to indicate in the Comment Section that they have reviewed the analysts work for accuracy and completeness.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2013-109

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.