Case Title: In re Public Utilities Commission

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: hawaii

Court: Hawaii Supreme Court

Date: 2006-01-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
Law LIBRARY

*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***

Wo. 27496

 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAT'T

 

In the Matter of

  

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Instituting a Proceeding to Investigate the Issues and
Requirements Raised by, and Contained in
Hawai'i Revised Statutes 486, as Amended

 

APPEAL FROM THE HAWAIT PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
(DOCKET NO. 05-0002)

ORDER DISMISSING BEPEAL
(py: Nakayama, J., for the court!)

Upon review of the statements supporting and contesting
jurisdiction and the record, it appears that the Public Utilities
Commission opened Docket No, 05-0002 to examine whether the
Legislature's gasoline price cap factors should be adjusted. The
commission filed Decision and Order No. 21952 determining that
the commission would initially use and not adjust the
Legislature’s factors to calculate the gasoline price caps. The
determination that the Legislature’s factors would be initially
used to calculate the gasoline price caps did not determine any
legal right, duty or privilege of appellant Shell 011 Company or
any other party and HRS § 486H-13 did not require the commission
to conduct @ hearing prior to decision making on whether the
commission would use or adjust the Legislature’s factors to
initially calculate the gasoline price caps. Therefore, Docket
No. 0§-0002 was not a proceeding in which the legal rights,
duties or privileges of specific parties were required by law to
be determined after an opportunity for agency hearing and was not
a contested case from which an appeal could be taken pursuant to

‘considered by: Moon, C.J., Levingon, Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy, JJ.
*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***

HRS §§ 91-14(a) and 269-15.5. See HRS § 91-1(5). The
commission's public meetings were not required by constitutional
due process inasmuch as the commission, in Docket No. 05-0002,
did not determine any legal right, duty or privilege of appellant
Shell 011 Company. See HRS § 91-1(5).

IT FURTHER APPEARS that Decision and Order No. 21952,
which gave notice of further proceedings in the docket to adjust
and refine the gasoline cap formula and which was followed by the
commission's September 28, 2008 directive to submit proposals on
adjustment and refinement of the gasoline cap formula, did not
end Docket No. 05-0002 and was not a final decision and order
appealable pursuant to HRS §§ 91-14(a) and 269-15.5. The
decision and order was not appealable as a preliminary ruling of
the nature that deferral of review pending entry of a subsequent
final decision would deprive appellant Shell Oi} Company of
adequate relief inasmuch as appellant can petition the commission
pursuant to HRS § 486H-16 for an adjustment of the gasoline cap
formula. For the same reasons, Order No. 21994 was not
appealable. Thus, we lack jurisdiction over this appeal.
‘Therefore,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this appeal is dismissed for
lack of appellate jurisdiction.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, January 23, 2006.

FOR THE COURT:

Prete Nestle

Associate Justice