PENNSYLVANIA
PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265

Public Meeting held May 1, 2008

Commissioners Present:

Wendell F. Holland, Chairman
James H. Cawley, Vice Chairman, Joint Statement attached
Tyrone J. Christy
Kim Pizzingrilli, Joint Statement attached

Thomas Burford				

	v.								C-20077324

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation

ORDER

BY THE COMMISSION:

We adopt as our action the Initial Decision of Administrative Law Judge Charles E. Rainey, Jr. dated January 24, 2008;

THEREFORE,

IT IS ORDERED:

1.	That the complaint filed by Thomas Burford against National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation at Docket No. C-20077324 is sustained in part and dismissed in part.

2.	That Complainant’s complaint that Respondent wrongfully required that he pay the outstanding balance on Julie Burford’s bill as a condition of having service restored and placed in his name, is dismissed.

3.	That Complainant’s complaint that Respondent wrongfully billed Julie Burford for service during a period when it knew that foreign load was on her meter is sustained. 

4.	That Respondent shall within thirty (30) days of the Commission’s final order provide Complainant with an adjusted outstanding bill that eliminates charges for gas usage during the period from June 16, 2003 to July 8, 2003.

5.	That Respondent shall within thirty (30) days of the Commission’s final order provide Complainant with payment terms for restoration of service that are consistent with 66 Pa.C.S. §1407(c).

6.	That Respondent shall within twenty (20) days of the Commission’s final order pay a civil penalty in the amount of $250.00, by submitting a certified check for that amount to:

	James J. McNulty, Secretary
	Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
	P.O. Box 3265
	Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265

7.	That Respondent cease and desist from further violation of the Public Utility Code.

8.	That this case be marked closed.

BY THE COMMISSION,

James J. McNulty
Secretary

(SEAL)

ORDER ADOPTED:  May 1, 2008

ORDER ENTERED: May 2, 2008

PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17105-3265

THOMAS BURFORD						PUBLIC MEETING 										MAY 1, 2008
	V.								MAY-2008-ALJ-0018*
									Docket No. C-20077324
NATIONAL FUEL GAS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

JOINT STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER KIM PIZZINGRILLI AND
VICE CHAIRMAN JAMES H. CAWLEY

		While the Initial Decision is being adopted without modification, we wish to comment on the treatment of the foreign load issue in this case. Recently, the Commission adopted a new holding regarding foreign load in landlord-tenant arrangements. Afshari v. PPL Electric Utilities Corporation, Docket C-20055547 (Final Order entered April 9, 2008). The Commission was concerned about the equity of making landlords completely responsible for large arrearages when foreign load was present on a tenant’s account. The Afshari holding therefore provides a landlord the opportunity to avoid financial responsibility for the entire amount of a past due balance. This Initial Decision, issued prior to our holding in Afshari, handles the foreign load issue differently but with a similar sensitivity to the equities of the situation.1 Given the reasonable resolution of the matter, the time that has elapsed since the foreign load was discovered, and that this decision was issued prior to Afshari, we find that the public interest is served by adopting the Initial Decision without modification.

May 1, 2008 						____________________________________
	Date 						KIM PIZZINGRILLI, 											COMMISSIONER

May 1, 2008 						____________________________________
	Date 						JAMES H. CAWLEY, 
								VICE CHAIRMAN