Opinion ID: 2088513
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Retroactive Refunds and Rate Moratorium Provisions

Text: Two provisions of the Sixth Order  the retroactive refund provision and the rate moratorium provision  create another problem. Under the terms of the Sixth Order, Staff will review the revenues of Edison at the end of each of the five years. If the earnings of Edison were excessive in any particular year, the Commission could order a refund in the following year. This court has previously held that the Act prohibits retroactive refunds. ( Citizens, 124 Ill.2d 195.) The Sixth Order also provided that Edison could not file for a rate increase during the five-year period. The Act does not restrict when or how often a utility may file for a rate increase. See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 111 2/3, pars. 9-102, 9-201; Illinois Bell, 414 Ill. at 281. The retroactive refund and rate moratorium provisions, therefore, required the approval of Edison before the Commission could enter the Sixth Order. The Commission could enter into an agreement with Edison to impose the provisions, but the Commission could not do so to the exclusion of the other parties in the case, the intervenors. Although these two provisions, on their face, benefit the intervenors, the provisions also contained exceptions and contingencies which may adversely affect the intervenors. Consequently, the intervenors had an interest in and a right to participate in any settlement regarding these provisions. Therefore, we conclude the Commission acted outside its jurisdiction (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 111 2/3, par. 10-201(e)(iv)(B)) and beyond the scope of its authority ( Hartigan, 117 Ill.2d at 142) by imposing the retroactive refund and rate moratorium provisions.