Texas Administrative Code › Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION › Part 2 - PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS › Chapter 22 - PROCEDURAL RULES › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS › Section 22.2 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following terms, when used in this chapter, shall have
					 the following meanings, unless the context or specific language of a section
					 clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)
				  Administrative law judge--The person designated to preside over a
				  hearing.
(2) APA--The
				  Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 2001, Government Code, as it may be
				  amended from time to time.
(3)
				  Administrative review--Process under which an application may be approved
				  without a formal hearing.
(4)
				  Affected person--For a matter involving an entity that provides electric or
				  telecommunications service, the definition of affected person is that
				  definition given in PURA §
										RSA
				  11.003(1). For a matter involving an entity
				  that provides water or sewer service, the definition of affected person is that
				  definition given in TWC §
										RSA
				  13.002(1).
(5) Applicant--A person, including commission
				  staff, who seeks action from the commission by written application, petition,
				  complaint, notice of intent, appeal, or other pleading that initiates a
				  proceeding.
(6) Application--A
				  written application, petition, complaint, notice of intent, appeal, or other
				  pleading that initiates a proceeding.
(7) Arbitration--A form of dispute resolution
				  in which each party presents its position on any unresolved issues to an
				  impartial third person(s) who renders a decision on the basis of the
				  information and arguments submitted.
(8) Arbitration hearing--The hearing
				  conducted by an arbitrator to resolve any issue submitted to the arbitrator. An
				  arbitration hearing is not a contested case under the Administrative Procedure
				  Act, Texas Government Code §§
										RSA
				  2001.001, et. seq.
(9) Arbitrator--The commission, any
				  commissioner, any commission employee, or any SOAH administrative law judge
				  selected to serve as the presiding officer in a compulsory arbitration
				  hearing.
(10) Authorized
				  representative--A person who enters an appearance on behalf of a party, or on
				  behalf of a person seeking to be a party or otherwise to participate, in a
				  proceeding. The appearance may be entered in person or by subscribing the
				  representative's name upon any pleading filed on behalf of the party or person
				  seeking to be a party or otherwise to participate in the proceeding. The
				  authorized representative shall be considered to remain a representative of
				  record unless a statement or pleading to the contrary is filed or stated in the
				  record.
(11) Chairman--The
				  commissioner designated by the Governor to serve as chairman.
(12) Commission--The Public Utility
				  Commission of Texas.
(13)
				  Commissioner--One of the members of the Public Utility Commission of
				  Texas.
(14) Complainant--A person,
				  including commission staff or the Office of Public Utility Counsel, who files a
				  complaint intended to initiate a proceeding with the commission regarding any
				  act or omission by the commission or any person subject to the commission's
				  jurisdiction.
(15) Compulsory
				  arbitration--The arbitration proceeding conducted by the commission or its
				  designated arbitrator in accordance with the commission's authority under FTA96
				  §252.
(16) Contested case--A
				  proceeding, including a ratemaking or licensing proceeding, in which the legal
				  rights, duties, or privileges of a party are to be determined by a state agency
				  after an opportunity for adjudicative hearing.
(17) Control number--Number assigned by
				  Central Records to a docket, project, or tariff.
(18) Days--Calendar days, not working days,
				  unless otherwise specified by this chapter or the commission's substantive
				  rules.
(19) Docket--A proceeding
				  handled as a contested case under APA.
(20) FTA96--The federal Telecommunications
				  Act of 1996, Public Law Number 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996), (to be codified at
				  47
				  U.S.C. §§
											151 et seq.).
(21) Final order--The whole or part of the
				  final disposition by the commission of the issues before the commission in a
				  proceeding, rendered in compliance with §
										RSA
				  22.263 of this title (relating to Final
				  Orders).
(22) Financial
				  interest--Any legal or equitable interest, or any relationship as officer,
				  director, trustee, advisor, or other active participant in the affairs of a
				  party. An interest as a taxpayer, utility ratepayer, or cooperative member is
				  not a financial interest. An interest a person holds indirectly by ownership of
				  an interest in a retirement system, institution, or fund which in the normal
				  course of business invests in diverse securities independently of that person's
				  control is not a financial interest.
(23) Hearing--Any proceeding at which
				  evidence is taken on the merits of the matters at issue, not including
				  prehearing conferences.
(24)
				  Hearing day--A day of hearing when the merits of a proceeding are considered at
				  the hearing on the merits, a final order meeting, or a regional
				  hearing.
(25) Intervenor--A person,
				  other than the applicant, respondent, or the commission staff representing the
				  public interest, who is permitted by this chapter or by ruling of the presiding
				  officer, to become a party to a proceeding.
(26) Licensing proceeding--Any proceeding
				  respecting the granting, denial, renewal, revocation, suspension, annulment,
				  withdrawal, or amendment of a license, including a proceeding regarding a
				  notice of intent to build a new electric generating unit.
(27) Major rate proceeding--Any proceeding
				  filed under PURA, §§36.101-36.111, 36.201-36.203 and
				  RSA
				  36.205 or §§
										RSA
				  51.009, 53.101-53.113,
				  RSA
				  53.201 and
				  RSA 53.202 involving
				  an increase in rates which would increase the aggregate revenues of the
				  applicant more than the greater of $100,000 or 2.5%. In addition, a major rate
				  proceeding is any rate proceeding initiated under PURA,
				  §§36.151-36.156 or §
										RSA
				  53.151 and §
										RSA
				  53.152 in which the respondent utility is
				  directed to file a rate filing package. For water and sewer utilities, a rate
				  filing package filed under TWC §
										RSA
				  13.187 is a major rate proceeding.
(28) Mediation--A voluntary form of dispute
				  resolution in which an impartial person facilitates communication between
				  parties to promote negotiation and settlement of disputed issues.
(29) Municipality--A city, incorporated
				  village, or town, existing, created, or organized under the general, home-rule,
				  or special laws of Texas. A municipality is a "person" as defined in this
				  section.
(30) Party--A party under
				  subchapter F of this chapter (relating to Parties).
(31) Person--An individual, partnership,
				  corporation, association, governmental subdivision, entity, or public or
				  private organization.
(32)
				  Pleading--A written document submitted by a party, or a person seeking to
				  participate in a proceeding, setting forth allegations of fact, claims,
				  requests for relief, legal argument, and/or other matters relating to a
				  proceeding.
(33) Prehearing
				  conference--Any conference or meeting of the parties, prior to the hearing on
				  the merits, on the record and presided over by the presiding officer.
(34) Presiding officer--The commission, any
				  commissioner, or any hearings examiner or administrative law judge presiding
				  over a proceeding or any portion thereof.
(35) Proceeding--Any hearing, investigation,
				  inquiry or other fact-finding or decision-making procedure, including the
				  denial of relief or the dismissal of a complaint, conducted by the commission
				  or the utility division of SOAH.
(36) Project--A rulemaking or other
				  proceeding that is not a docket or a tariff.
(37) Protestor--A person who is not a party
				  to the case who submits oral or written comments. A person classified as a
				  protestor does not have rights to participate in a proceeding other than by
				  providing oral or written comments.
(38) PURA--The Public Utility Regulatory Act,
				  Texas Utilities Code, Title 2, as it may be amended from time to
				  time.
(39) PWS--Public Water
				  System.
(40) Relative--An
				  individual (or spouse of an individual) who is related to the individual in
				  issue (or the spouse of the individual in issue) within the second degree of
				  consanguinity or relationship according to the civil law system.
(41) Respondent--A person under the
				  commission's jurisdiction against whom any complaint or appeal has been filed
				  or who is under formal investigation by the commission.
(42) Retail Public Utility--Any person,
				  corporation, public utility, water supply or sewer service corporation,
				  municipality, political subdivision or agency operating, maintaining, or
				  controlling in this state facilities for providing potable water service or
				  sewer service, or both, for compensation.
(43) Rulemaking--A proceeding under APA,
				  Texas Government Code, chapter 2001, subchapter B conducted to adopt, amend, or
				  repeal a commission rule.
(44)
				  SOAH--The State Office of Administrative Hearings.
(45) TCEQ--The Texas Commission on
				  Environmental Quality.
(46)
				  TWC--The Texas Water Code, as it may be amended from time to time.
(47) WQ--Water Quality discharge
				  permit.
(48) Working day--A day on
				  which the commission is open for the conduct of business.