Court Opinion

ID: 9642982
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 18:14:24.103499+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:55.850040
License: Public Domain

FERREN, Associate Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent for the reasons set forth in Part IV of Chief Judge Newman’s opinion for the division majority, affirming the Commission’s order, in Washington Gas Light Co. v. Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, Nos. 81-302, -303, -305 (Oct. 4, 1982), slip op. at 28. That opinion was vacated and the case reheard en banc. On September 30, 1983, the en banc court affirmed the Commission’s order by an equally-divided court, without opinions.
I attach hereto as an appendix the division opinion and dissent, as well as the en banc order, in Washington Gas Light, supra, as these have not yet been published beyond this court’s slip opinion series.
*1093APPENDIX
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS
No. 81-302
Washington Gas Light Co., petitioneR, v. Public SeRvice Commission of the DistRict of Columbia, Respondent.
Office of People’s Counsel of the DistRict of Columbia, Potomac ElectRic Power Co., Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., INTERVENORS.
No. 81-303
Office of People’s Counsel of the District of Columbia, petitioner, v. Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, respondent.
Washington Gas Light Co., Potomac Electric Power Co., Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., intervenors.
No. 81-305
Potomac Electric Power Co., petitioner, v. Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, respondent.
Washington Gas Light Co., Office of People’s Counsel of the District of Columbia, Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co., intervenors.
Petitions for Review of an Order of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia
(Argued September 1, 1981 Decided October 4, 1982)
Before Newman, Chief Judge, and Kern and Mack, Associate Judges.
Opinion for the court by Chief Judge Newman.
Opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part by Associate Judge Kern at p. 1110.
Newman, Chief Judge: This case arises from petitions submitted to the District of Columbia Public Service Commission (“PSC” or “Commission”) by Washington Gas Light Co. (“WGL”) and Potomac Electric Power Co. (“PEPCO”) challenging the Office of People’s Counsel’s (“OPC”) practice of directing the utilities, without PSC approval, to reimburse certain of its expenses. The PSC hearing on the petitions and subsequent order dealt with two types of issues. The first concerns the respective roles of the OPC and the PSC in ordering utility payments for OPC expenses. The second group involves the types of expenses that are properly assessable, and the purposes for which those expenditures may be made. The PSC ruled that: (1) The PSC, and not OPC, has the sole statutory authority to order regulated utilities to make payments for the purpose of covering OPC expenses. (2) In the course of making such assessments, the PSC is required to review the reasonableness of OPC’s requests for expense funds. (3) Reimbursement is limited to expenses incurred due to OPC’s involvement in proceedings and investigations of the Commission. Accordingly, independent OPC investigations that have not ripened into action before the PSC must be funded out of OPC’s budget appropriations. (4) Potentially reimbursable items include the fees of private attorneys and “extraordinary incremental expenses,” but not basic operating expenses. The fact that certain items are similar to other items that are funded by appropriation does not preclude the former from being assessable. The People’s Counsel now appeals the rulings summarized under (1) and (2). PEP-CO and WGL, joined by intervenor Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone (“C & P”), appeal the decisions on points (3) and (4). We affirm on all counts.
We begin with a brief review of the institutional and statutory background of the case, followed by a summary of its procedural history. After a discussion of *1094the scope of review, the issues for decision are analyzed in four parts, corresponding to the rulings noted supra, Parts I and II deal with the respective authority of the PSC and OPC with regard to the assessment of OPC expenses against the utilities. In Part I we conclude that the D.C.Code authorizes the PSC, not OPC, to order expense payments. In Part II, we consider the PSC’s authority and responsibility to review the reasonableness of OPC requests for expense payments. The last two parts consider statutory limits on the expenses for which payments may be ordered. In Part III, we conclude that OPC expenditures are assessable only if employed for the purpose of participation in PSC activities, such as Commission hearings and investigations; independent OPC investigations are excluded. Part IV focuses not on the kind of OPC project for which financial support may be sought, but on the types of items which may be funded. We conclude that the PSC is authorized to order utilities to bear the fees of private attorneys retained by OPC, as well as other reasonable incremental expenses not provided for in appropriations.
In its early years, the PSC, represented through the Corporation Counsel, was the only public institution advancing ratepayer interests in matters of utility regulation. Perceiving the need for a publicly funded consumer advocate with a large measure of independence from the decisionmaking body, Congress created the Office of the People’s Counsel in 1926. Act of Dec. 15, 1926, Pub.L. No. 69-529, Ch. 8, § 3, 44 Stat. 921 (1926). It was subsequently abolished, Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952, § 2(b), 66 Stat. 824 (1952), but was recreated in 1975 by amendment of the D.C.Code, Act of Jan. 2, 1975, Pub.L. No. 93-614, 88 Stat. 1975 (1975), codified at D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(a). It is charged with representing the interests of District of Columbia residents who use the services of utilities regulated by the PSC. Not surprisingly, much of this representation function is performed in proceedings before the Commission. However, the OPC is not limited to participation in matters initiated by, or pending before, the PSC. It is authorized to investigate “the services given by, the rates charged by, and the valuation of the properties of, the public utilities under the jurisdiction of the Commission,” and to provide certain services to consumers, including “public information dissemination, consultative services, and technical assistance.” D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(d).
Like the Congress that originally created the OPC, the Ninety-third Congress was apparently convinced that the substantial segregation of the PSC’s advocacy and adjudicative roles would improve the utility regulation process.1 The legislative history of the 1975 amendments indicates a con*1095cern for maintaining the independence of OPC from PSC supervision.2 As ultimately enacted, the amendments included several provisions that foster the independence of OPC. For example, the People’s Counsel is appointed by the Mayor for a fixed term of three years. D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(b). While the statute states that the OPC exists within the PSC, D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(a), the two organizations receive separate appropriations.3 D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(a).
However, appropriations cover only a part of the cost of utility regulation. Utility consumers have always borne the cost of advocacy of the utilities’ interests before the Commission, which are paid out of rate revenues.4 Since 1927, the utilities have been required to bear the PSC’s non-appropriated expenses of investigation and regulation. Act of Mar. 3, 1927, Pub.L. No. 69-707, 44 Stat. 1351 (1927), codified at D.C.Code 1981, § 43-612(a). In 1975 Congress decided that the expenses of adjudication, investigation, and advocacy incurred by OPC should also be charged to the utilities, and ultimately financed by utility *1096charges5 rather than tax levies. The 1975 amendments added language (italicized here) that extended the scope of the expense provisions to cover costs incurred by the OPC.
The expenses, including the expenses of the Office of the People’s Counsel, of any investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding of any nature by the Public Service Commission ... and all expenses of any litigation, including appeals, arising from any such investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding, or from any order or action of the Commission, shall be borne by the public utility investigated, valued, revalued, or otherwise affected as a special franchise tax _ [D.C.Code 1978 Supp., § 43-612(a).]6
The combined expenses of the PSC and the People’s Counsel in any valuation or rate case may not exceed one-half of one percent of the utility’s existing valuation. The combined expenses for all other investigations are limited to one tenth of a percent per year.7 Id.
The same section outlines a procedure for the collection and disbursement of expenses borne by the utilities, which was also modified in 1975 to provide a role for the OPC.
When any such investigation, valuation, revaluation, or other proceeding is begun the said Public Service Commission may call upon the utility in question for the deposit of such reasonable sum or sums as in the opinion of said commission, it may deem necessary ... the money so paid to be deposited in the treasury of the United States to the credit of the appropriation account known as “miscellaneous trust fund deposit ...” and to be disbursed in the manner provided for by law for other expenditures ... for such purposes as may be approved by the Public Service Commission; or certified by the People’s Counsel with respect to his expenses. [Id. (italics indicate language added in 1975).]
Shortly after the Office of the People’s Counsel was reinstituted, it began submitting “assessment orders” directly to utilities, without PSC approval. These demands were complied with, but, as People’s Counsel concedes, OPC’s asserted authority to make legally binding orders was never acknowledged by the utilities. Then, in 1978, PEPCO challenged this alleged authority before the PSC by means of a motion to quash an assessment order. In Formal Case 685, the Commission denied the motion on the ground that the PSC had no jurisdiction to review OPC expense assessments. Hearing, Formal Case 685, p. 187 et seq. (February 21, 1978). No appeal was taken.
The challenge to OPC’s alleged assessment power which forms the basis of the present appeal was initiated by Washington Gas Light. On April 4, 1979, WGL submitted to the PSC a Petition for a Declaratory Order to Remove Uncertainty, pursuant to D.C.Code 1981, § 1-1508. The petition asserted that the PSC rather than the OPC has sole authority to make binding assessments (in the form of orders to make deposits into the miscellaneous trust fund). It also argued that utilities may not be required to bear the cost of certain categories of expenditures. On April 25, PEPCO *1097petitioned the PSC in Formal Cases 680 and 706 to rule on the legality of two assessment orders growing out of those cases, which PEPCO had refused to pay. On August 10, 1979, the Commission consolidated all pending disputes concerning OPC expense assessments into Formal Case 718. The Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. was permitted to intervene in support of the stands taken by the other utilities. A prehearing conference was held at which nine issues were formulated for decision.
1. Whether, in the absence of an order of the Commission, People’s Counsel may require a utility to deposit funds for use by the Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC).
2. Whether the Commission has the authority, on a petition from a utility, to review the reasonableness of an assessment request made by the OPC.
3. Whether the Commission can lawfully enforce an assessment order of the OPC without reviewing the reasonableness of the requested assessment.
4. Whether a utility is required to pay the fees of independent attorneys engaged by the People’s Counsel to perform legal services.
5. Whether a utility is required to pay a proportional share of the costs of supplies, services and other basic operating expenses of OPC.
6. Whether a utility is required to pay a proportional share of the salaries of employees of OPC.
7. Whether a utility is required to pay the costs of an investigation initiated and conducted by People’s Council when such investigation is not pending before the Commission.
8. To what extent may the Commission, on a complaint from a utility, inquire into the method and manner in which the OPC expends the funds paid to it as a result of the issuance of a miscellaneous deposit trust fund order by the People’s Counsel or by an order by the Commission upon certification of actual expenditures or anticipated expenditures by OPC.
9.Assuming that the Commission finds that the assessment process currently in effect is unlawful either as operated by the People’s Counsel or as permitted by the Commission, what, if any, relief can the Commission grant?
After briefing and argument, the Commission presented its answers to these questions in Order 7211. It ruled that:
1. The People’s Counsel has no authority to require a utility to deposit funds for OPC use without a Commission order. PSC Order 7211 at 4 (Nov. 13, 1980).
2.&3. The PSC may review the reasonableness of an OPC request for funds at the request of a utility, and must do so before enforcing an OPC request. Id. at 4-5.
4. Utilities may be required to pay the cost of private attorneys engaged by the OPC. Id. at 5.
5.&6. “Basic operating expenses or salaries” already financed through appropriations may not be assessed against utilities even when they are incurred in connection with a Commission proceeding. However, “extraordinary incremental expenses incurred by OPC in connection with a proceeding before this Commission,” which “may ... include the costs of services, equipment and salaries which are of the same or similar nature as those covered by appropriation,” are assessable. To be classified as an “extraordinary incremental expense” an expenditure must be episodic and not provided for in the appropriations process. Id. at 6.
7. Utilities are not required to pay the costs of OPC investigations that are not pending before the PSC. Id. at 6.
8. While the Commission has responsibility for ordering deposits into the trust fund, it may not inquire into the *1098manner of disbursement or expenditure of monies drawn from the fund. OPC certification of past or anticipated expenditures covered by fund deposits is made not to the PSC but to the public authority that administers the trust fund. Id. at 7.
9. The PSC may grant prospective relief. Id. at 7.
The Commission ordered that all OPC assessment requests be forwarded to it along with supporting documentation, to be reviewed in accord with its rulings.
OPC submitted an Application for Reconsideration of points 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. The utilities filed similar motions seeking reconsideration of rulings 4, 5, and 6. In Order 7243 (January 12, 1981), the Commission denied the motions. Having thus paved the way for judicial review, OPC appeals the decisions regarding Commission authority to review assessment requests and the non-assessability of independent investigation expenses (numbers 2, 3 and 7). WGL and PEPCO appeal the rulings on questions 4, 5, and 6, which concern the assessability of private attorneys’ fees and “extraordinary incremental expenses.” By an Order of March 26, 1981, these appeals were consolidated and the petitioner in each was made an intervenor in the others. In addition, C & P was permitted to intervene in all three appeals.8
Before proceeding to a discussion of the merits, a word about the scope of review is in order. The statute governing review of PSC decisions draws a sharp distinction between agency determinations of matters of law and fact. The former are subject to review, while the latter are to be set aside only if unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. D.C.Code 1981, § 43-906. The Commission maintains that it has primary responsibility for determining questions arising under the Public Service Commission Law, subject only to “limited review”. However, PEPCO argues that the issues presented on appeal are solely matters of law, and that Commission interpretations of the statutes in question are “neither controlling nor entitled to special deference.”
In cases involving construction of the Public Utilities Act, this court has accorded substantial weight to the views of the PSC. “Although the ultimate responsibility for determining the correct interpretation of a statute rests with the courts [citing FTC v. Texaco, 393 U.S. 223, 226, 89 S.Ct. 429, 431, 21 L.Ed.2d 394 (1968) ], ‘[i]t is settled that the courts should give great weight to any reasonable construction of a regulatory statute adopted by the agency charged with the enforcement of that statute’ ” (quoting Investment Co. Institute v. Camp, 401 U.S. 617, 626-27, 91 S.Ct. 1091, 1097, 28 L.Ed.2d 367 (1971)). Watergate Improvement Associates v. Public Service Commission, D.C.App., 326 A.2d 778, 785 (1974). “[A]n appellate court should give ‘great deference to the interpretation given the statute by the ... agency charged with its administration’ ” (quoting Udall v. Tail-man, 380 U.S. 1, 16, 85 S.Ct. 792, 801, 13 L.Ed.2d 616 (1965)). Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. v. Public Service Commission, D.C.App., 378 A.2d 1085, 1089 (1977). Thus while this court retains the ultimate authority to establish what the statute means, the PSC’s view is “a substantial factor to be considered.” Youak-im v. Miller, 425 U.S. 231, 235, 96 S.Ct. 1399, 1402, 47 L.Ed.2d 701 (1976).
I. Authority to Order Utilities to Make Expense Payments
The PSC ruled that “OPC does not have the power to issue assessment orders; this Commission has the exclusive authority to issue orders_”9 PSC Order 7211 at 5. It based this result on its interpretation of *1099§ 43-612(a) in light of the complete statutory scheme.
Section 43-612(a) states that OPC’s expenses for certain of its activities 10 shall be borne by the public utility involved. It provides a means for the collection of these funds from the utilities and their disbursement to OPC. The PSC is authorized to require utilities to make payments into a fund known as “miscellaneous trust fund deposit.” As no distinction is made between deposits for the expenses of the Commission and those of the People’s Counsel, it is clear that the same mechanism applies in both cases. The only OPC role mentioned regards the disbursement of money from the fund. It may withdraw money by certifying its expenses. Neither the PSC nor the utilities contend that such certification must be made to the Commission or approved by it.
No other procedure for the funding of OPC expenses (other than appropriation) is mentioned in § 43-612 or elsewhere in the statute. OPC, however, contends that this omission is merely an oversight on the part of Congress, which intended that the statutory assessment mechanism be merely optional. People’s Counsel would have the court imply OPC authority to make direct assessments against the utilities from the statutory mandate that its expenses “shall be borne” by the utilities. That suggestion is untenable. OPC, like the Commission and other government institutions, is a creature of statute and has only such powers as are given by statute. Cf. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. v. Public Service Commission, supra at 1089 (referring to the PSC’s powers). See A. Priest, Principles of Public Utility Regulation 10 (1969). “[I]n the absence of persuasive evidence to the contrary, we are not empowered to look beyond the plain meaning of a statute’s language in construing legislative intent.” United States v. Stokes, D.C.App., 365 A.2d 615, 618 (1976). Dis-Washington, D.C.App., 431 A.2d 1, 4 (1981). OPC concededly is not explicitly given the authority to order payments. This in itself is not conclusive, since the Public Service Commission Law is to be liberally construed to carry out its purposes. D.C.Code 1981, § 43-103. But only in the absence of any express funding mechanism would an implied power be required in order to carry out the intent that expenses be borne by the utilities. When Congress has clearly established one method and not indicated that it is merely optional or suggested, we are not at liberty to invent a procedure of our own. trict of Columbia v. National Bank of
Of course the presumption of exclusivity could be overcome by convincing evidence in the legislative record that Congress in fact intended otherwise. Only one of the statements cited by OPC in support of its position directly addresses the issue of the assessment procedure. It was made not by a Member of Congress, but by then Chairman Stratton of the PSC, in a letter to Senator Eagleton regarding the proposed amendments.
Under this section as it now stands, the Commission may assess the utility involved for the expenses incurred by the Commission in connection with any of its proceedings. These assessments are deposited into a trust fund and disbursed upon the authority of the Commission.
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Under the bill the People’s Counsel would have independent authority to assess the utility for his expenses of participation in a Commission proceeding, and disbursements would be made upon his certification and would not be subject to the approval of the Commission. This is as we prefer to have it: the Commission should not impose prior approval over activities of the People’s Counsel nor have a veto power over his expenses. We believe the independence of that of*1100fice requires that the incumbent have the authority and responsibility for its activities, including the expenditure of ratepayers’ funds in conducting the case in their behalf. [S.Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 20 (1974).]
The Chairman was not the originator or even a proponent of the OPC plan.11 No other testimony expressed like views, and there is no evidence that Congress adopted them. Inferring approval from congressional silence is a dubious enterprise; the lack of comment is equally likely to be due to inattention, preoccupation with other matters, or other reason. Our refusal to find an unstated congressional intent is reinforced by the fact that the position expressed by Chairman Stratton apparently is different from that now advocated by OPC, and conflicts with the statutory language. When he refers to the OPC’s “independent authority to assess”, he apparently uses the term “assess” in the same sense as in the preceding paragraph. At that point, he clearly meant the power to order payments into the trust fund. OPC does not contest the Commission’s exclusive power to order such payments, as Chairman Stratton seems to have done in his letter. The writer neither advocated nor even showed he had considered OPC’s present position — that the trust fund mechanism is optional and that it has the authority to order direct payments to itself. His reference to “disbursements” indicates the contrary: that he referred to trust fund transactions rather than direct transfers from the utilities.
Due to the lack of specific support for its view of its assessment power, OPC relies heavily on more general principles that it finds embodied in the statutory language and legislative history. It argues that a prime purpose of Congress in creating the OPC was to ensure its independence from PSC control. It cites the fixed tenure and Mayoral appointment of its head, its separate appropriation, and numerous statements in the legislative record as evidence of this concern. It argues that the existence of certain areas of OPC autonomy, such as the certification of expenses, proves that OPC must also be completely independent in other areas such as issuance of assessment orders. But this is a non sequitur, resting on the false premise that independence is an all-or-nothing proposition. As the People’s Counsel puts it, “Independence is very much like pregnancy. It either exists or it does not. There are no partial states of either condition known to man.” It is perfectly conceivable that Congress would have concerns in addition to that of independence, which might in some ways conflict with it and force an accommodation. For all that appears, that is what occurred here. For example, Congress might have been concerned with the fairness to the utilities and rate-payers of allowing OPC an unfettered discretion to set its own budget, and therefore preferred that a more neutral and adjudicative (rather than adversarial) body like the PSC make assessments. Regardless of the underlying motivation, we find nothing inconsistent in a statutory scheme giving OPC a very large degree of autonomy, but retaining limited areas where it must rely on Commission action.
II. PSC Authority and Duty to Assess the Reasonableness of OPC Requests Before Ordering Expense Deposits
Relying on § 43-612,12 the Commission ruled that, before exercising its power to order expense deposits, it must review the reasonableness of the OPC requests.
*1101Disposition of this issue is governed by the language of § 43-612(a). The Commission is there authorized to “call upon the utility in question for the deposit of such reasonable sum or sums as in the opinion of said Commission, it may deem neces-sary_” D.C.Code 1981. Orders may thus be made only if they are reasonable. Someone must make that determination. Congress clearly intended the PSC to be more than a rubber stamp or conduit for OPC requests. If, as the People’s Counsel contends, Congress meant OPC’s view to be conclusive on the Commission, it chose a highly obscure way of saying it. The term “reasonable” is used in connection with a definition of the Commission’s function of ordering deposits. If Congress had in fact meant OPC to have the final say, it could easily have expressed that intent by such words as “such sums as the People’s Counsel shall certify as reasonable and necessary.” By far the more convincing reading of the statute is that the Commission must satisfy itself that any sums ordered are reasonable. This conclusion is reinforced by the words “as in the opinion of said Commission, it may deem necessary.” In light of this clause, it is implausible that OPC’s judgment as to the reasonableness of its requests would be conclusive.
OPC argues that freedom from PSC review of the substance of its expense applications is essential to its congressionally-mandated independence. The reasoning is the same as that used in support of an independent assessment power. The shortcomings of this approach, discussed in Part I, need not be repeated.
People’s Counsel further maintains that PSC approval of requests for deposit orders is inconsistent with the disbursement procedures in which all parties concede the PSC plays no role.13 “Whenever possible a statute should be interpreted as a harmonious whole” and “one part of a statute must not be construed so as to render another part meaningless.” In re T.L.J., D.C.App., 413 A.2d 154, 158 (1980). No such inconsistency exists here. Having exercised its limited review power at the point when funds are deposited, there is no need for it to repeat the process when they are disbursed. As PSC concedes, disbursement is essentially a ministerial process, involving no substantive review, Of course, OPC could not rightfully certify and receive money for expenses for which no deposits were approved.
OPC, of course, must attempt to reconcile its position with the fact that the statute requires the amounts deposited to be “reasonable” and “necessary.” Initially, as indicated above, it took the position that the People’s Counsel’s judgment as to the reasonableness of its requests would be conclusive. Presumably he would refrain from submitting requests he found unreasonable. In the Office’s reply brief, it takes the tack that the determinations of “reasonableness” and “necessity” are indeed for the Commission, but that these requirements concern only the timing of deposit orders, not their substance or total amount. According to OPC, this procedure does not amount to a power of approval over OPC requests, but only an authorization for the exercise of “management discretion” as to when deposits should be made in the trust fund account. Neither the Commission nor we find this interpretation persuasive. It is true that the statute states that deposits may be ordered “from time to time” at any point after the commencement of the investigation or proceeding for which expenses are sought. But it is the sums ordered to be deposited which must be “reasonable” and “deemed necessary” by the Commission. It is difficult to conceive how the spreading of the amounts over the course of the proceeding could be reasonable, if the expenses themselves are excessive, or perhaps should not have been incurred at all. It is also hard to imagine *1102that the Congress was concerned with the reasonableness of the timing of payments and not with the reasonableness of their substance. We will not impose such a strained interpretation without convincing evidence in the legislative record to support it. None has been cited, nor have we found any.
OPC attaches significance to the statutes of other states that have officials who perform a function similar to that of the People’s Counsel. The conclusion that these statutes were used as “models” for OPC when it was first created in 1926 is based upon the following statement in the Senate Report:
Many States require the cost of operation of their public utilities commissions to be borne by the companies under their jurisdiction. This is effected either by imposing a franchise tax or license fee of a percentage of the income of the companies; by penalty in case of decision against the companies in proceedings instituted relating to their charges; or by the method proposed in the bill hereby reported — a direct assessment of cost against the company, to be charged to their operating expenses and eventually paid by their customers. Such a provision is contained in the statutes of Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri. [S.Rep. No. 644, 69th Cong., 1st Sess. 4 (1926).]
OPC then quotes the statutes of two of the three states mentioned, and emphasizes that they do not contain the word “reasonable.” Even if one makes the assumptions that the details of these statutes shed substantial light on the meaning of the D.C. Code, and that those provisions in fact preclude their respective utility commissions from overseeing the reasonableness of assessed expenses, they hinder rather than aid OPC’s case. The fact that Congress chose to insert the word “reasonable,” even though it does not appear in its “models,” serves, if anything, to emphasize that Congress meant what it said.
We conclude that the statute requires the PSC to consider the reasonableness of OPC requests.14 Therefore, we need not *1103rule on the utilities’ contention that the power of OPC to make independent or final assessments, subject only to potential subsequent court review, would violate due process.
III. The Assessability of Expenses of OPC Investigations Not Pending Before the Commission
The PSC determined that the utilities are required to bear only those OPC expenses that are incurred in connection with matters pending before the PSC or investigations initiated by it. PSC Order 7211 at 6.15 Unrelated OPC investigations are thus excluded. In so holding, it relied on the language of § 43-612(a) italicized here.
The expenses, including the expenses of the Office of the People’s Counsel, of any investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding of any nature by the Public Service Commission of or concerning any public utility operating in the District of Columbia, and all expenses of any litigation, including appeals, arising from any such investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding, or from any order or action of the Commission, shall be borne by the public utility_ [D.C.Code 1981.]
On its face, the section clearly specifies that expenses must be related to the activities of the “Commission.” A colorable argument could be made that in this instance “Commission” should be read to include the OPC, thereby bringing independent OPC investigations within the section. According to the section creating the OPC, the Office exists “within the Commission.” D.C.Code 1981, § 43-406(a). But as used in other instances within § 43-612, it is clear that “Commission” and “Office of the People’s Counsel” are employed in a mutually exclusive fashion. A somewhat stronger argument for the inclusion of OPC investigations is that Congress’ failure to make clear such an intent is due to inadvertence in amending the section. Pri- or to 1975, advocacy functions of the kind now performed by OPC were entirely the province of the PSC, represented through the Corporation Counsel. Arguably the intent of the amendments was simply to transfer a major part of this function to an independent office, without affecting the scope of reimbursable expenses. Since an OPC investigation of a utility under the jurisdiction of the PSC might perform essentially the same role as an earlier investigation “of the Commission,” its costs arguably ought to be covered. However, in the absence of persuasive evidence that this was Congress’ intent, this possibility must be rejected.
OPC points to only a single sentence in the legislative record, italicized below, which it says indicates an intent to include independent OPC investigations. However, when read in context, it provides at best weak support.
Section 2 of H.R. 17450 amends the D.C.Code to provide that the expenses of the People’s Counsel in any investigation, valuation, revaluation, litigation, appeal, or proceeding of the Public Service Commission concerning a public utility operating in the District of Columbia, shall be borne by the public utility involved. Subsection 2b states that these expenses must be certified prior to payment. Present law provides that the expenses of the Public Service Commission itself for investigations, valuations, revaluations or other proceedings of utilities shall be assessed against the utility involved. These include the costs of expert witnesses, special accountants, or other extra costs incurred as a result of that particular proceeding or investigation. The basic salaries and expenses of *1104the Public Service Commission are paid through the standard appropriations process ....
Under the provisions of Section 2, these same types of costs incurred by the People’s Counsel as a result of investigative or rate casework could be assessed against the utility. The basic salaries and expenses of the People’s Counsel Office would be covered by the current authorization for appropriations for the Public Service Commission. [S. Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 5-6]
In referring to the “same types of costs”, the Report contrasts “costs of expert witnesses, special accountants, or other extra costs incurred as a result of that particular proceeding or investigation,” with “basic salaries and expenses.” It does not indicate that these types of items would be reimbursable if incurred in a matter not connected with a PSC investigation or proceeding. OPC has also suggested that the very existence of its authority to conduct investigations without awaiting Commission action requires, or at least strongly supports, the assessability of their cost. But that is not the case, since such investigations may be funded out of appropriations, albeit not at the level which OPC might prefer.
We thus conclude that the Commission interpreted the statute correctly. The draftsmen of the 1975 amendments had to insert new language at several junctures to account for the reestablishment of the OPC. If Congress had intended for completely independent OPC investigations to be funded by the utilities, it could easily have expressed that intent by such words as “or investigations by the Office of People’s Counsel”. In the absence of a legislative record indicating otherwise, we cannot assume their omission was inadvertent.
IV. The Assessability op Private Attorneys’ Fees and “Extraordinary Incremental Expenses”
Section 43-612(a) reads:
The expenses, including the expenses of the Office of the People’s Counsel, of any investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding of any nature by the Public Service Commission of or concerning any public utility operating in the District of Columbia, and all expenses of any litigation, including appeals.... [D.C.Code 1981.]
The question is whether certain categories of expenditures are covered by the term “expenses” and thus assessable against the utilities.
A. Private Attorneys’Fees
The Commission ruled that the fees of private attorneys engaged by OPC to assist it in particular proceedings must be paid by the utilities. PSC Order 7211 at 5. It relied on the lack of express statutory limitation on kinds of expenses and on the longstanding PSC practice of assessing under the same statute for private attorneys hired by the Commission. The Commission reasoned that when Congress amended the section in 1975, it was aware of the prevailing administrative interpretation and would have added qualifying language if it intended to place stricter limits on OPC’s authorized expenses.
The language of the statute is broad and inclusive. No particular exclusions are enumerated or even alluded to. No qualifications are placed on the term “expenses” except those of reasonableness and relationship to a pending proceeding.16 The phrase “all expenses of any litigation” is particularly instructive, because attorneys’ fees are the archetypical litigation expense. It would be rather anomalous if, as the utilities maintain, Congress included this expansive phrase while expecting all litigation to be performed by salaried staff attorneys paid out of appropriations.
Nothing in the legislative history of the original section or of the 1975 amendments indicates that “all expenses of any litigation” was understood to mean “all litiga*1105tion expenses except lawyers.” The few references to lawyers that appear suggest the contrary: that their cost was understood to be included. In justifying expense assessment, the Senate report on the bill creating § 43-612 specifically invoked the need for additional lawyers.
The Public Utilities Commission, as at present constituted, is not prepared to undertake an extensive and thorough valuation for the reason that its accounting, engineering, and legal assistants are so limited in number that they could not conclude a valuation within a reasonable time without neglecting their other duties. Last year there was a revaluation of the properties of the telephone company, and it was manifest that the company’s case was presented very much more comprehensively and effectively before the Public Utilities Commission itself, as well as in the court to which appeal was taken, than was that of the public.
Unless funds are provided during the present session of Congress, the commission will have to proceed in the gas companies’ case as it did last year in the telephone case, with the aid of assistants already overtaxed and with practically no funds available for a proper check of the accounts and physical inventory of the utilities.
Legal assistance is necessary to properly present evidence not only before the commission itself but also, in case of appeal from its valuation or rate decision, to adequately represent the public before the courts in a highly technical proceeding. [S. Rep. No. 644, 69th Cong., 1st Sess. 2-3 (1926) (emphasis added).]
The need for more legal assistance would have been irrelevant if expense assessments were not meant to provide funding for legal services. The same report cited an instance in which the Commission attempted and failed to get a special appropriation for “special valuation counsel” as evidence that there should be a separate non-appropriation funding procedure to finance such expenses. Selection of that example suggests that the Senate committee intended special counsel to be funded through expense assessment. Id. at 4. Testimonial letters appended to the report also called for the funding of attorneys.17
Whether Congress was aware of the Commission practice of hiring outside lawyers when the section was extended to cover the OPC in 1975 is less clear. The PSC states that, at least since 1973, it has hired private attorneys to perform investigative work, and assessed utilities for their cost. When the 1975 amendments were under consideration by the Senate, the PSC Chairman informed the Committee on the District of Columbia of the Commission's “liberal use” of § 43-612, which enabled it “to engage experts and undertake special investigative work.” S.Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 20 (1974) (letter of William R. Stratton). However, he did not specifically refer to attorneys.
The utilities maintain that other provisions of the Public Service Commission Law modify what would otherwise be the scope of § 43-612. They correctly suggest that various parts of a statutory scheme should be construed harmoniously so as to avoid unnecessary inconsistency. In re T.L.J., supra.
*1106D.C.Code 1973, § 43-204, as- enacted concurrently with § 43-612,18 authorized the Corporation Counsel to advise and represent the PSC. It states that an annual fee in compensation for this service will be paid out of PSC appropriations. It further provides that:
The commission may, if at any time it deems necessary, employ other attorneys at law as additional assistants to the said general counsel for the performance of such extraordinary legal services for or in behalf of the commission at such special compensation for such additional assistants as the commission may prescribe, which said compensation shall be paid out of the appropriations provided for the expenses of the commission. [M.]
This section does not govern legal representation for the OPC, which is covered in the succeeding section. Subsection (a) of § 43-406 requires that the People’s Counsel himself be a lawyer admitted to practice before this court. D.C.Code 1981. Subsection (c) makes it quite clear that the Office of the People’s Counsel may hire its own in-house legal staff.
The People’s Counsel is authorized to employ and fix the compensation of such employees, including attorneys, as are necessary to perform the functions vested in him by this Act, and prescribe their authority and duties.
According to the utilities, this statutory scheme contemplates that legal representation will be performed exclusively by staff attorneys hired through appropriations. Accordingly, the expense assessments of § 43-612 for litigation costs would only be available for expenditures other than attorneys’ fees.
PEPCO contends that the unqualified authorization for OPC to hire attorneys contained in § 43-406(c) should be read as confined to the extent of appropriations authorized in § 43-406(a). Since OPC may not hire attorneys except as financed by appropriations, attorney expenses cannot be assessed under § 43-612. It contrasts this interpretation with its view of the Commission’s power to engage attorneys. Under this view, the Commission has two independent sources of authority to hire attorneys. The first, contained in § 43-405, explicitly authorizes the hiring of lawyers and provides that they are to be paid from appropriated funds. Section 43-606 authorizes the hiring of “agents” to assist in the Commission’s work, without any limitation on the source of compensation. Although lawyers are not explicitly mentioned, no one disputes that they may be hired under the section and compensated from funds assessed under § 43-612. This enables PEPCO to ascribe some meaning to the explicit inclusion of litigation expenses in § 43-612, while insisting that OPC attorneys cannot be funded thereunder.
Like the Commission, we find this line of argument unpersuasive. No express condition on the hiring of OPC attorneys is contained in either § 43-406(a) or (c). The more reasonable explanation for the specific mention of attorneys in § 43-406 is to make clear that, unlike the Commission, the People’s Counsel may appear on his own behalf rather than call on the Corporation Counsel for representation.19 The mere fact that subsections dealing with two subjects involved in the creation of OPC — appropriations and hiring of staff— happen to be collected in a single section does not imply that one is silently conditioned by the other. If anything, the invocation of § 43-406 strengthens the conclusion that the hiring of attorneys by OPC is not limited by appropriations. The section *1107contains a very clear and express limitation on the source of funding, notably absent in § 43-406. Neither is there evidence that the mode of funding was meant somehow to carry over from one section to the other.
The legislative history provides no evidence of a dichotomy between the kinds of expenses assessable by OPC and the PSC, or between administrative and appellate expenses. Language in both the House and Senate Reports — which PEPCO cites elsewhere — confirms the contrary: that assessable OPC expenses include judicial appeals.
Section 2 of H.R. 17450 amends the D.C. Code to provide that the expenses of the People’s Counsel in any investigation, valuation, revaluation, litigation appeal, or proceeding of the Public Service Commission concerning a public utility operating in the District of Columbia, shall be borne by the public utility involved. [H.R. Rep. No. 1485, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 4 (1974), App. at 114; S. Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 5 (1974), (emphasis added).]20
The utilities attempt to bolster their argument by quoting excerpts from the legislative record which indicate that OPC would employ its own legal staff to represent consumer interests. But these citations only establish what is undisputed: that Congress meant OPC to maintain its own legal staff. They do not establish the proposition for which they are quoted, that OPC was to be limited to this means of engaging legal services. There is nothing inconsistent in the provision of two means of obtaining legal counsel and representation. The flaw in the utility position is that they implicitly assume the contrary: that one express form of funding legal assist-anee denies any others even if expressly provided elsewhere in the statute.
The utilities make much of an analogy to the judicial award of attorneys’ fees to prevailing private litigants. Under the “American rule,” a court may generally not grant fees to a prevailing party absent express statutory authorization. Alyeska Pipeline Service v. Wilderness Society, 421 U.S. 240, 248-72, 95 S.Ct. 1612, 1617-29, 44 L.Ed.2d 141 (1975). Moreover, a general term like “costs” in such statutes is not ordinarily construed to cover attorneys’ fees. 20 AM.JuR.2d Costs § 72 (1965). The utilities would have us transplant this body of doctrine without modification to the context of administrative assessments to finance a public institution. While there are some parallels, the two areas differ significantly. The private civil litigant normally sues to vindicate his own interest and seeks damages, out of which he can cover his litigation expenses. It is worth noting that the possibility of the funding of private parties on a case-by-case basis was considered as an alternative to creation of the OPC and rejected. OPC, in contrast, works on behalf of ratepayers and does not receive a direct benefit by virtue of its success. All of its expenses are publicly funded; the only issue is whether particular costs may come from an assessment — a franchise tax — or only from an appropriation. With this as background, there is little if any basis for an a priori presumption that general language regarding expenses does not include attorneys’ fees. The word “attorney” is not such a magic formula that Congress’ failure to invoke it must defeat the legislative purpose. The statutory language explicitly goes beyond the narrow sense of “expenses” used in the *1108court award statutes, by referring to costs related to investigations. The utilities themselves concede that such items as consultants are covered. Even if we accepted the premise that § 43-612 was meant to have a narrow scope, its language does not provide a basis for choosing what items to exclude. Thus we conclude that the Commission’s broader reading of “expenses” is not in error.
Finally, the utilities quote recitations in the legislative record of various kinds of services for which expense assessments were contemplated.
Present law provides that the expenses of the Public Service Commission itself for investigations, valuations, revaluations or other proceedings of utilities shall be assessed against the utility involved. These include the costs of expert witnesses, special accountants, or other extra costs incurred as a result of that particular proceeding or investigation.
Under the provisions of Section 2, these same types of costs incurred by the People’s Counsel as a result of investigative or rate casework could be assessed against the utility. The basic salaries and expenses of the People’s Counsel Office would be covered by the current authorization for appropriations for the Public Service Commission_ [S. Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 5-6 (1974).]
In addition to these basic expenses, the D.C. People’s Counsel will be permitted to assess expenses incurred in specific utility proceedings against the company involved. These would include, for example, the costs of hiring expert witnesses, rate design economists, safety engineers and other specialized consultants in specific rate cases. [Id. at 9, App. at 96; H.R. Rep. No. 1485, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 9 (1974).]
From the listing of such expenses as expert witnesses and consultants, without the concurrent mention of lawyers, they infer that the latter were meant to be excluded. But the examples cited appear to be illustrative, not exclusive. It may have been the case that Members of Congress and the witnesses before them generally believed that the greatest need for assessments was in the area of non-legal consultants, such as economists or engineers. But even if true, that belief does not amount to an understanding that assessments were to be legally confined to particular categories of services.
B. The Assessability of “Extraordinary Incremental Expenses ”
Like the question of the assessability of private attorneys’ fees, this issue calls for a construction of the term “expenses” as used in § 43-612. The Commission ruled that a utility need not pay basic operating expenses or salaries already covered by appropriations even when those costs are incurred in connection with a pending proceeding. PSC Order 7211 at 5-6. However, it must pay a proportional share of any “extraordinary incremental expenses” associated with participation in a pending proceeding. Thus there are two defining characteristics of this category of assessable expenses: (1) they are not already covered by an appropriation, and (2) they are episodic, rather than ongoing, i.e., associated with a particular proceeding or investigation. The type of item included (e.g., paper, legal advice, secretarial services) as contrasted with its use (e.g., to prepare testimony for a particular rate hearing), is not decisive.
As discussed in subpart A, supra, the expense assessment statute includes no express limits on the kinds of items that are reimbursable. However, the clauses “of” or “arising from” “any investigation, valuation, revaluation, or proceeding” clearly place a limit on the purposes for which funded items may be used. The legislative history is consistent with the interpretation made by the PSC. For example, S. Rep. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 7 (1974) states:
The basic expenses of the Office of People’s Counsel, including salaries, rent, *1109supplies, telephones, and equipment, will be appropriated by Congress under the authorization contained in the bill; that authorization is for a maximum budget of $100,000 for this office for each fiscal year....
Certainly Congress did not mean for assessments to be made for items already paid for. But it does not follow that the kinds of items listed could never be other than “basic.” The same report states that assessable expenses “include the costs of expert witnesses, special accountants, or other extra costs incurred as a result of that particular proceeding or investigation.” Id. at 5. Certainly “extra costs” could well include supplies or equipment, kinds of items which are also components of “basic expenses” or overhead.
Moreover, in explaining the bill on the House floor, one of its chief sponsors indicated that “operating expenses” associated with particular investigations or proceedings would be subject to assessment.
I understand that the estimate of the cost to the city of the Office of People’s Counsel will be some $100,000' per year, a figure which is approximately the same as has been the experience in Maryland for that same office. I wish to point out, however, that not all the actual cost will be borne by the public as included in that figure. The bill provides that the operating expenses of the People’s Counsel in any investigation [or proceeding ]21 incident to the operations of the Public Service Commission in connection with a public utility operating in the District of Columbia shall be borne by the public utility itself. This is consistent with the provision in present law that expenses of the Public Utilities Commission itself involving investigations, evaluations and other proceedings of utilities are to be assessed against the utilities concerned. [93 Cong.Rec. 37268 (1974) (remarks of Congressman Gude) (emphasis added).]
In contrast to the PSC’s conception of the distinction between assessable and non-assessable expenses, based on their use, the utilities propose an approach that focuses on the type of item involved. If a certain kind of item is included in appropriations, it could not also appear in an expense request. This thesis proves far too much. Any kind of item is capable of being funded by appropriation, including those which are clearly allocable to particular proceedings. If this approach were taken to its logical conclusion, no item would be assessable, a result which Congress obviously did not intend. It is indisputable that Congress meant the assessment provisions to increase the total amount of funds available to OPC and the Commission. The utilities would prefer to have assessment limited to a small number of items, such as certain expert witnesses. But there is no justification for such a limitation, nor a reasonable basis for determining, as a matter of law, what items are includable. The statute makes no enumeration. As noted above, the examples cited in the legislative history are clearly indicative, not exclusive.
PEPCO urges that the salaries of People’s Counsel employees can under no circumstances be considered extraordinary (and therefore assessable), even as respects work performed on particular Commission proceedings. It reasons that representation of the People’s Counsel before the PSC is a normal and ongoing function and that associated staff work is by definition not an incremental cost. The Commission decision did not draw such a distinction between independent contractors and salaried employees. It indicated that both “costs of services” and “salaries” were potentially assessable items. PSC Order 7211 at 6. The Commission’s view is a reasonable interpretation of the statute. There is no indication that Congress intended to fix limits on the type of employment relationship to be maintained between OPC and *1110persons hired with assessed funds.22 Certainly from the point of view of the utility or ratepayer paying the bill, it should make no difference whether the economist or legal advisor being funded is paid with a payroll check or through a bill for services rendered. In some instances, it may even be in the utilities’ interest that OPC be permitted to choose between hiring outside consultants or additional employees to work on particular proceedings. That would be the case if a staff person would perform a given task more efficiently than an outsider, due to the experience or familiarity which comes from working full time on particular, or related, regulatory matters. Of course, salaries for OPC positions funded by appropriation could not be assessed.
Underlying the utilities’ position is a fear that without firm boundaries on OPC’s expense assessments its total budget will be excessive or harbor wasteful expenditures. But there are adequate safeguards to address those risks without the imposition of arbitrary limits on the particular items which may be assessed. The PSC has already put the People’s Counsel on notice that the Commission will not allow the fixed expenses of operating the Office to be apportioned to particular proceedings by means of artful accounting, thereby increasing the total cost borne by the utilities. PSC Order 7211 at 6. As to the expenses of particular proceedings not already financed by appropriation, our holdings in Parts I and II, supra, confirm the power of the Commission to prevent extravagance and waste on the part of OPC, by verifying the reasonableness of expense requests.
We conclude that the Commission was correct in ruling that it may assess independent attorneys’ fees and other reasonable OPC expenses incurred in connection with a particular PSC investigation or proceeding, unless they are already covered by an appropriation. Assessable expenses are not otherwise confined to specific categories of items.

Affirmed.

. The House committee report on the 1975 amendments states:
In developing and enacting this legislation in 1913, the Congress recognized that the responsible regulatory commission must in many instances act in a judicial fashion, balancing in an independent manner the varying viewpoints of public groups appearing before it. This necessarily independent posture has inhibited the Commission from vigorously protecting the consumers’ viewpoints and needs in rate proceedings. Their function has been rather to insure the development of a full and complete record which presents the facts and other rate-making considerations relative to a fair and meaningful determination of the complex issues involved. As such, the 1926 amendment created a separate office, with legal counsel, to advocate the views and needs of local consumers with regard to utility rates, distribution of these rates, service levels, fuel costs, and other utility operations .... The local utility regulatory commission had served admirably in its role as the independent judicial body responsible for making comprehensive and detailed decisions on complex rate procedures. However, it has not been able to serve simultaneously as the vigorous defender of local consumer interests. [H.R.Ri-p. No. 1485, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 2-3 (1974).]
The Senate report indicates that in reestablishing OPC, Congress was motivated by those same concerns.
The original legislation which established the Public Utilities Commission in 1913 ... was amended in 1926 to provide for appointment of additional counsel in the Public Service Commission called the People's Counsel to intervene at hearings or judicial proceedings in matters concerning services provided by public utilities. However, the People’s *1095Counsel was abolished through Reorganization Plan No. 5, approved in 1952. The bill as reported by this Committee, re-enacts Title 43, Section 205, of the D.C.Code, drawing upon the original thinking and concerns of Congress when it initially enacted the law. [S. Ri:i>. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 3 (1974).]

.In testimony before the House committee, Maryland’s People’s Counsel emphasized the importance of independence.
Of course, I would have one caveat that I would urge either on the Committee or subsequent District of Columbia agencies that the financial commitment to adequately fund the independent office has to go along with creating the office also. I think that even if we did not save one nickel for the consumers, that the system itself of having an independent representative of the public within the Commission, operating independently, is most important. [Utility Rates and People's Counsel for the Public Service Commission: Hearings on H.R. 16782 Before the House Comm, on the District of Columbia, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 73 (1974) (statement of Gary R. Alexander).]
The same theme reappeared in response to questioning.
The Chairman: Does that suggest that under the counterpart bill, that People’s Counsel should be answerable to the Public Service Commission or to be independent? What would you suggest?
Mr. Alexander: It has to be independent of the Public Service Commission. There is no question about that, so that you may want to consider a specific term. Merely the fact that he is appointed by the Mayor may not lead to any conflict within the Commission itself. I think the important point is to have the People's Counsel position independent within the Commission. [Id. at 74-75.]
The Committee stated that the bill would “insure that there is an adequate, independent process for allowing the public and its interests to become a proper party in these proceedings.” H.R.Rhi1. No. 1485, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 10 (1974).
The Senate committee concurred in that point of view.
[I]n order to truly function, the People's Council [sic] must be independent. An effective consumer advocate must be able to argue his case on the merits and support the interests he is protecting. By the very nature of his function as an advocate, the People's Counsel will be continually taking positions in controversial matters. [S.Ri-i’. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 5 (1975).]

. While he and the Public Service Commission may wish to utilize the same personnel, share offices or otherwise cooperate, the specific authorization contained in the bill is intended to provide the People’s Counsel with protection against any problems that might arise from his taking positions which he believes to be in the people’s interest and which arc effectively contesting the decisions of the Public Service Commission. [S.Riíp. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 5 (1975).]

. In his concurring and dissenting opinion, Judge Kern objects strenuously to the fact that consumers are required to bear substantial legal fees for the representation of their own interests before the Commission. However, no objection is made to the fact that ratepayers are required to bear the legal costs of those with opposing interests (i.e., an interest in higher utility charges) — the utilities and their shareholders. Certainly Congress is permitted to redress the balance through a legislative judgment that there should be a public consumer advocate independent of the PSC, and that its legal and other costs should be borne by its beneficiaries. Our job is to determine the scope of what Congress has done, not to interpose our own preferences. See note 5 infra.

. Expense payments, plus six percent interest, may be charged to utility operating expenses and provided for in the rates charged to customers. D.C.Code 1981, 43-612(a).

. Due to a recent amendment contained in the Public Utilities Reimbursement Fee Act of 1980, Act 3-206, D.C.Reg. 3004 (July 11, 1980), codified at D.C.Code 1981, § 43-612, the cost of appropriations for the PSC and OPC are now also borne by the utilities.

.In light of the fact that Congress has fixed the limit on overall costs of the regulatory process, and this limit has not been exceeded, Judge Kern’s view that these costs arc too high is not relevant to the task at hand. When Congress has spoken, it is not for us to interpose a different opinion. Under the congressional scheme, the upper limit is fixed, while the Commission— not this court — is delegated the responsibility to determine the actual expenditure level within those bounds through its expense assessment decisions.

. PEPCO also filed a motion to strike four of OPC's grounds for review, which is denied.

. The Commission also stated that il has the exclusive authority to seek judicial enforcement of assessment orders, a matter that is not presented on appeal. PSC Order 7211 at 5.

. The question of which of its activities may be financed by assessments is addressed in Part III, infra.

. He preferred public funding of consumer intervenors as a means of promoting ratepayer advocacy. S.Rhp. No. 1349, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. 22 (1974) (statement of William R. Stratton).

. The Commission also cites two cases in a footnote, but these are not directly on point, since neither involved a challenge based on the "unreasonableness” of an assessment. Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. v. Public Serv. Comm’n, D.C.App., 339 A.2d 710 (1975): Washington Ry. & Electric Co. v. District of Columbia, 64 App.D.C. 243, 77 F.2d 366 (1935).

. Certification of expenses by OPC is not made to the Commission, but to the custodians of the trust fund deposits. See PSC Order 7211 at 7.

. OPC’s several subsidiary arguments can be rejected without lengthy discussion.
People’s Counsel asserts that PSC review is a regulatory redundancy due to the existence of other checks such as expense certification, D.C. audit procedures, and the G.A.O. audit. See D.C.Code 1981, § 47-411. Such is not the case, since these procedures serve accounting functions designed to maintain fiscal integrity rather than to review the appropriateness of expenditures.
People’s Counsel maintains that the PSC has no expertise in the assessment of OPC expenses and lacks standards for decision. Even assuming this were true, it would not justify judicial repeal of the statutory scheme. Moreover, the Commission does have experience in determining the reasonableness of utility budgets and affirms that it is currently developing standards for expense requests.
We also reject the contention that review of expenses would require prejudgment of cases pending before the Commission. It is perfectly possible to consider the reasonableness of hiring attorneys or consultants without passing on the theories or opinions they may ultimately present before the PSC.
People’s Counsel raises the spectre of the unwarranted discovery by the utilities of OPC’s prehearing work product in the course of expense disputes. Until we see evidence to the contrary, we are confident that the PSC will take adequate steps to oversee the proceedings so as to protect the interests of all involved. If the possibility raised by OPC should ever come to pass, there will be adequate opportunity to deal with it at that time.
OPC notes that it and the PSC are subject to two common ceilings on the combined total of expenses. It contends that it is unfair for the PSC to review OPC expenses because the Commission has an interest in drawing upon the same funds. But this docs not support nonre-viewability of OPC requests, for OPC could then control the amount of funds available to PSC, which would be equally “unfair.” In fact, the existence of a common ceiling militates in favor of having a single body review expenses for both the Commission and the OPC, so as to avoid conflicting assessments.
Finally, People’s Counsel stresses that the PSC reached a contrary and unappealed decision in another case about fourteen months earlier. See Hearing, PSC Formal Case 685 (Feb. 21, 1978). However, the Commission is not constrained by that decision. It is entitled to change its mind, so long as it provides an explanation for its departure from its own precedent. See 2 K. Davis, Administrativk Law § 8.9 at 198 (2d ed. 1979). ”[A]n agency changing its course must supply a reasoned analysis indicating that prior policies and standards are being deliber*1103ately changed, not casually ignored...." Greater Boston Television Corp. v. Federal Communications Comm'n, 444 F.2d 841, 852 (D.C.Cir. 1977). The original PSC order and the order on reconsideration provide an adequate indication of a deliberate and considered change in course.

. This is the only issue as to which there was disagreement within the Commission. Commissioner Long dissented.

. See Parts II & III, supra.

. “The Commission should also have funds available to employ expert legal assistance for the purpose of preparing and presenting this case to the courts." S.Riu>. No. 644, 69th Cong., 1st Sess. 5 (1926) (letter of J.F. Bell, Commission Chairman).
To present adequately and properly the side of the public in this case the following are needed:
Third. The finest legal assistance available to take charge of the case from the very beginning, so that the evidence presented to the commission will be complete, adequate, and in proper form to be presented to the court, ... exhausting all legal measures to see that justice is done to the public as well as to the company. [Id. at 6 (letter of William E.R. Covcll).]

. This arrangement has now been altered by the Public Service Commission General Counsel Act of 1980, Act 3-331, 28 D.C.Reg. 90 (Dec. 22, 1980). Under the new system, legal advice and representation for the PSC is provided by its own staff rather than the Corporation Counsel. See D.C.Code 1981, § 43-405.

. Since the enactment of § 43-406, the section dealing with legal representation of the PSC has been modified. See note 16, supra.

. WGL’s statutory analysis differs somewhat from that of PEPCO, but arrives at similar conclusions as regards OPC. It does not stress a distinction between litigation expenditures and other expenses. It would deny assessments for legal representation both to OPC and the PSC, on the theory that the in-house legal staffs of each were intended by Congress to be their sole advocates before the Commission and the courts. WGL concedes that the PSC may hire attorneys as "agents” under § 43-606 and assess for their cost, but insists that such lawyers may serve only as advisors or investigators, not representatives. “All expenses of any litigation” would apparently thus be limited to such items as court filing fees. This theory differs from PEPCO's only as to the extent of the Commission’s hiring authority, which is not at issue here. As concerns OPC, we reject it for the same reasons.

. In place of the bracketed words, the Congressional Record reports "of procedure.” Whether Mr. Gude misspoke or the recorder misundcr-stood, it is clear in light of the bill’s language that the intended words were “or proceeding."

. WGL cites an exchange on the floor of the House as evidence that staff could only be employed through the use of appropriated funds.
Mr. McCLORY. Further reserving the right to object, is it limited as far as who the People’s Counsel can employ or is it unlimited as far as additional staff?
Mr. DIGGS. A limitation is imposed by the authorization level for the operation of this office.
Mr. McCLORY. How much is that?
Mr. DIGGS. For the first months of 1975, it is $50,000 and there is $100,000 limitation for subsequent fiscal years. [93 Cong.Rhc. 41849 (1974).]
However, when read in context, it becomes apparent that the focus of attention was not the extent of utility liability under § 43-612, but the cost of OPC staff to the Treasury. The original bill had provided only for an individual People’s Counsel with a specified salary grade. The Senate amended the bill to authorize the hiring of staff in addition to the People's Counsel himself, and provided a budget authorization for the Office. The concern expressed on the floor was apparently centered on the fiscal effect, not the impact on the utilities. This is shown by the remarks of Congressman Gude, a sponsor of the bill, which immediately followed the portion of the record quoted by WGL.
Some may be concerned about the wording of section 3 of the bill authorizing a $50,000 appropriation for fiscal year 1975 and not to exceed $100,000 for the fiscal year 1976. This language did not appear in the House version of the bill, inasmuch as the funding for the People’s Counsel over and above that which would be borne by the public utilities investigated, valued, revalued, or otherwise effected as a special franchise tax would have been included in the budget of the Public Service Commission. The Senate version of section 3, presumably because it establishes an Office of the People’s Counsel, sets a limitation for the expenses to be appropriated for that office. Certainly it is the intent of Congress that these funds authorized to be appropriated are not to be Federal funds, but rather they are authorized to be appropriated out of money in the Treasury credited to the District of Columbia. [93 Cong.Rkc 41849 (1974) (emphasis added) ].