Opinion ID: 2544420
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The PUC Selection of Remedies

Text: To rectify unlawful utility action, the General Assembly provided the PUC with four primary remedies to select from. [8] These remedies, which include a combination of administrative remedies and judicial remedies, are not mutually exclusive; the PUC may choose to pursue one or more of them. § 40-7-103, 11 C.R.S. (2002). First, the PUC may administratively order a public utility to pay reparations to customers. Under section 40-6-119(1), the PUC may impose reparations if it finds that a public utility has charged an excessive or discriminatory amount for a product, commodity, or service, after a customer has complained about the utility and the PUC has conducted an investigation. § 40-6-119(1), 11 C.R.S. (2002). The PUC may order reparations based on PUC-initiated investigations, pursuant to its power to regulate utilities under section 40-3-102. § 40-3-102, 11 C.R.S. (2002); Peoples Natural Gas Div. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 698 P.2d 255, 263 (Colo. 1985). Second, the PUC may request the Attorney General to bring a suit for civil penalties for payment to the state treasury. [9] §§ 40-7-101, -109, 11 C.R.S. (2002); Peoples Natural Gas Div., 698 P.2d at 262. Civil penalties are meant to punish a perpetrator, to deter future unlawful acts, and to protect the public interest by shifting costs from the public to the perpetrator; civil penalties do not reimburse consumers for overpayment or make them whole for injuries received. May Dep't Stores Co. v. State ex rel. Woodard, 863 P.2d 967, 972 (Colo.1993); May v. Colo. Civil Rights Comm'n, 43 P.3d 750, 758-59 (Colo. App.2002). Third, the PUC may refer the case to the Attorney General for commencement of a lawsuit for relief against current or pending law violations through injunction or mandamus. § 40-7-104(1), 11 C.R.S. (2002). Fourth, the PUC may refer to the prosecution authority facts that may warrant criminal prosecution against any utility officer, agent, or employee who violates the law or assists a public utility in violating the law. § 40-7-106, 11 C.R.S. (2002). The PUC is not always required to seek a litigation remedy: Certainly the general assembly did not by these [enforcement] sections contemplate that every alleged violation of the terms of a certificate of public convenience and necessity had to be heard in a court of record. The commission has inherent power to investigate alleged violations and to make its orders, subject to review as provided by law. Eveready Freight Serv., Inc. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 131 Colo. 172, 175-76, 280 P.2d 442, 444 (1955). We accord great deference to the PUC's remedy choice because the commission has special expertise in public utility regulation and its choice of remedy resides at the core of its responsibility and discretion. Mountain States Tel. and Tel. Co. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 763 P.2d 1020, 1030 (Colo. 1988). We presume that the PUC's decisions and orders are valid; we review the PUC's findings on the record in the light most favorable to the commission's disposition; and only in the rarest case do we reject the PUC's selection of remedy. Id.; see also Pub. Serv. Co. of Colo. v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 26 P.3d 1198, 1204-05 (Colo.2001); City of Boulder v. Pub. Utils. Comm'n, 996 P.2d 1270, 1274-75 (Colo.2000). It is well established that `[o]nly in the rarest cases, limited primarily to demonstrated recalcitrance by the agency, should a court attempt to substitute its remedy for that of the agency.' Id. quoting 2 Charles H. Koch, Jr., Administrative Law and Practice § 8.7, at 14 (1985).