Court Opinion

ID: 9754746
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:11:44.612905+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:27:56.525044
License: Public Domain

W.H. “Dub” Arnold, Chiefjustice, dissenting. The majority holds that the Arkansas Public Service Commission (“Commission”) lacks the legislative authority to create a policy establishing a plan to reconnect natural gas service to residential customers who had been disconnected for failure to pay their gas bills incurred in the severe winter of 2000-01. Because our statutes give the Commission broad authority to implement such a policy, I respectfully dissent. Historical Background Because of extremely cold weather during the winter of 2000-2001, more than 30,000 residential gas customers in Arkansas were disconnected from service for non-payment of their natural-gas bills, which ranged from $261.00 to $350.00. As of October 25, 2001, 29,500 natural-gas customers remained disconnected, and many other customers were scheduled to have their natural gas disconnected.1 Once these residential customers were disconnected due to nonpayment, those customers would have been required to pay all delinquencies and a connection fee prior to reconnection in accordance with their previously approved rate schedule. In addition, these customers could also be required to pay a deposit equal to their two highest past bills. The disconnection and reconnection policies had been established by rate and tariff schedules approved by the Commission. For many low-income families in this state, the use of these existing policies was simply not an option. Many of these disconnected homes were occupied by low-income families that were financially unable to raise the money necessary to have their disconnected-gas service restored. Without modification of these previously approved tariffs, many of these low-income families were facing winter without heat for their homes. Recognizing that another winter season was about to begin, and also in anticipation of another winter of high natural-gas costs, the Commission determined that the public interest required the expeditious reconsideration of the previously approved policies for reconnection, and the consideration of a modified reconnection policy appropriate to low-income families. The Commission scheduled a public hearing in docket number 01-248-U with the express purpose of considering the implementation of a “Temporary Low Income Customer Gas Reconnection Policy” (“TLICGRP”). The stated goal of this policy was to provide assistance to such families in getting service connected before the onset of winter weather. Under the TLICGRP, eligible low-income customers’ gas utility service could be connected under certain conditions, including (1) entering into a delayed-payment agreement to pay the past due balances, (2) paying the utility’s reconnection fee, and (3) participating in a levelized payment program. Eligible customers were not required to make a connection deposit equal to the two highest bills as required under previously existing regulations. The TLICGRP was available for eligible customers until December 31, 2001. The eligibility for the revised schedules pertaining to the installment plan connection rate schedule was limited to certain low-income customers whose household income did not exceed 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. The utility companies were allowed to recover past due and unpaid balances from TLICGRP participants through the utilities’ purchased gas adjustment (“PGA”) or gas supply rate (“GSR”) mechanisms, applicable to all customers, provided however, that installment payments made by such customers were to be applied to reduce the past due balances.2  After comments were received, a public hearing was conducted on November 9, 2001. On that same day, in Order No. 2, the Commission ordered the utilities to begin implementing the TLICGRP. All of the utility companies complied with the Commission’s modifications of their rate schedules by accepting an installment payment of past due accounts coupled with an agreement for levelized bill payments and other provisions of the plan by participating customers. The utilities were required to cease other efforts to collect past delinquent bills from customers participating in the plan, but an allowance to reduce the amount of delinquencies was established. Periodic payments by the participating customers reduced the bad-debt account. On November 13, 2001, appellant, a group of nonresidential purchasers of gas known as the Arkansas Gas Consumers, Inc. (“AGC”) requested that the Commission reconsider its Order No. 2. AGC is comprised of industrial, manufacturing, and agricultural firms with facilities located throughout Arkansas. On November 14, 2001, the Commission issued Order No. 3, which amended portions of Order No. 2. On November 15, 2001, appellant requested clarification of the Commission’s previous order, which was addressed in Order No. 4 issued by the Commission on November 19, 2001. On December 12, 2001, appellant requested reconsideration of Orders Nos. 3 and 4. The next day, the Commission issued Order No.5, in which appellant’s petition was granted for the limited purpose of consolidating the request for rehearing, of Order No. 2 with the request for rehearing of Order Nos. 3 and 4. The Commission denied appellant’s request for rehearing of Order Nos. 2, 3, and 4 by Order No. 6 issued on January 9, 2002. From the Commission’s actions, appellant filed a notice of appeal with our court of appeals. After considering the arguments and the evidence, the court of appeals affirmed the Commission. See Arkansas Gas Consumers, supra. Thereafter, we accepted review of this case. The Commission’s Legislative Authority AGC argues that the Commission exceeded its statutory authority in establishing the TLICGRP. Specifically, AGC contends that the Commission’s general authority to regulate public utilities does not include the implementation of a connection policy designed to provide the choice of making installment payments of past-due accounts in order to be connected to utility services and other modifications, as set out in the TLICGRP. A. Whether the Commission exceeded its authority First, I will address the issue whether the establishment of the TLICGRP exceeded the authority of the Commission to regulate rates and tariffs pertaining to utility services provided by a public utility. The Commission is a creature of the legislature and must act within the power conferred upon it by legislative act. See Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 267 Ark. 550, 593 S.W.2d 434 (1980). The Commission has broad discretion in exercising its regulatory authority, and courts may not pass upon the wisdom of the Commission’s actions or say whether the Commission has appropriately exercised its discretion. Russellville Water Co. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 270 Ark. 584, 606 S.W.2d 552 (1980). The Commission exercises legislative authority when it “looks to the future and changes existing conditions by making a new rule, to be applied thereafter to all or some part of those subject to its power.” Southwestern Electric Power Co. v. Coxsey, 257 Ark. 534, 518 S.W.2d 485 (1975) (quoting with approval the Supreme Court decision of Prentiss v. Atlantic Coastline Co., 211 U.S. 210 (1908)). The issue presented is a matter of interpreting statutes granting the Commission regulatory authority over utility services. Our basic rule of statutory construction is to give effect to the legislative intent underlying the statute. Kildow v. Baldwin Piano & Organ, 333 Ark. 335, 969 S.W.2d 190 (1998); Vanderpool v. Fidelity & Cas. Ins. Co., 327 Ark. 407, 939 S.W.2d 280 (1997). When a statute is plain and unambiguous, an appellate court should give the language of the statute its plain and ordinary meaning, see Kildow, supra, but when the statute is ambiguous, an appellate court is permitted to look to the language of the statute, its subject matter, the object to be accomplished by the statute, the purpose to be served, and other appropriate matters. See Alltel Mobile Communications, Inc. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 63 Ark. App. 197, 975 S.W.2d 884 (1998). As a guide in ascertaining the legislature’s intent, the court examines the history of the statutes involved, as well as the contemporaneous conditions at the time of their enactment, the consequences of interpretations, and all other matters of common knowledge within the court’s jurisdiction. Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Arkansas Pub. Service Comm’n, 68 Ark. App. 148, 5 S.W.3d 484 (1999). The interpretation of a statute is a judicial function, and the Commission’s construction is not binding on the court. See Omega Tube & Conduit Corp. v. Maples, 312 Ark. 489, 850 S.W.2d 317 (1992). Nevertheless, the interpretation given a statute by a quasi-judicial tribunal charged with its execution is highly persuasive, and while not conclusive, neither should it be overturned unless it is clearly wrong. Id. Accordingly, we must examine the statutes creating the Commission’s jurisdictional authority. The Commission’s authority relating to the rates and conditions of utility service is broadly stated in Ark. Code Ann. § 23-2-301 (Repl. 2002), which provides: The commission is vested with the power and jurisdiction, and it is made its duty, to supervise and regulate every public utility defined in section 23-1-101 and to do all things,-whether specifically designated in this act, that may be necessary or expedient in the exercise of such power and jurisdiction, or in the discharge of its duty. Id. (emphasis added). See also Ark. Code Ann. § 23-1-101 (Repl. 2002). Following the broad foregoing grant of authority to do all things “necessary or expedient in the exercise of such power and jurisdiction, or in the discharge of its duty,” the General Assembly, without limiting the general authority granted by the statute, specifically designated and enumerated some of those powers in Ark. Code Ann. § 23-2-304(a) (Repl. 2002), which provides in pertinent part: (a) The commission, upon complaint, or upon its own motion, shall, upon reasonable notice and after a hearing, have the power to: (1) Find and fix just, reasonable, and sufficient rates to be thereafter observed, enforced, and demanded by any public utility; (2) Determine the reasonable, safe, adequate, and sufficient service to be observed, furnished, enforced, or employed by any •public utility and to fix this service by its order, rule, or regulation; (3) Ascertain and fix adequate and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, and services to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by any or all public utilitiesf.] Id. Subsection (1) of § 23-2-304(a) authorizes the Commission to “find and fix just, reasonable, and sufficient rates.” The Commission is further vested with the sole and exclusive jurisdiction and authority to determine the rates to be charged by utilities. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-201 (a) (1987). In addition, the Commission has the responsibility, when faced with unreasonable rates, to fix reasonable ones. Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-101(b) (1987). In its rate-making capacity, the Commission performs a legislative function that has been delegated to it, and it was created to act for the General Assembly. Southwestern Bell Tel. Co. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm., 267 Ark. 550, 593 S.W.2d 434 (1980). Subsection (2) of § 23-2-304(a), set out above, confirms the authority of the Commission to “[determine the reasonable, safe, adequate, and sufficient service” to be provided by a public utility. In order to determine what these terms mean, we can look to Ark. Code Ann. § 23-3-113 (Repl. 2002) for guidance. Section 23-3-113 provides: (a) Every public utility shall furnish, provide, and maintain such adequate and efficient service, instrumentalities, equipment, and facilities as shall promote the safety, health, comfort, requirements, and convenience of its patrons, employees, and the public. (b) Every person, firm, or corporation engaged in a public service business in this state shall establish and maintain adequate and suitable facilities, safety appliances, or other suitable devices and shall perform such service in respect thereto as shall be reasonable, safe, and sufficient for the security and convenience of the public and the safety and comfort of its employees, and, in all respects, just and fair, and without any unjust discrimination or preference. Id. These utilities are “directly related to the continued health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Arkansas.” Ark. Code Ann. § 23-3-301(a) (Repl. 2002). Subsection (3) of Ark. Code Ann. § 23-2-304(a) specifically confirms the authority of the Commission to “[ascertain and fix adequate and reasonable standards, classifications, regulations, practices, and services to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by any or all public utilities.” Based upon our rules of statutory construction, I maintain that the General Assembly’s intent was to give the Commission full authority to establish policies relating to the connection and disconnection of utility services, such as those contained in the TLICGRP. After several amendments, the Commission implemented the TLICGRP, which provides: 1. Eligibility for the TLICGRP is expanded to cover those low income customers who were disconnected from gas service for non-payment between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2001, and who remain disconnected as of the date of this order [November 14, 2001] or who are scheduled to be disconnected for nonpayment on or before December 31,2001, and whose total family income does not exceed 200 percent of the currently approved Federal Poverty Guidelines. 2. Eligibility shall be determined by each Gas Companies’ customer service representatives based upon the information provided directly to the customer service representatives by each low income customer making a request to participate in the TLICGRP. Third party certification will not be required. Once a customer is determined to be eligible by the customer service representative, the process of reconnection can begin.The final date for enrollment in the TLICGRP shall be December 31,2001. 3. Debits and credits to be flowed through each Gas Companies’ Purchased Gas Adjustment (“PGA”) or Gas Supply Rate (“GSR”) or by a bill line item shall be limited to the outstanding indebtedness of and payments received from only those customers actually enrolled in the TLICGRP. Eligible debits shall include not only existing past due amounts when the customer enrolls in the TLICGRP but also new unpaid debt incurred while the customer is a participant in the program for usage during the current winter heating season (defined as the billing period beginning November 1, 2001, and ending April 30, 2002). Credits shall include all payments received from any customer in the TLICGRP program toward the outstanding debt that has been debited to the PGA, GSR or bill line item as authorized herein, whether incurred prior to enrollment or during participation in the program.The gas companies shall be allowed to recover the total bad debt write-off for enrolled customers over a single twelve (12) month amortization period. 4. For the reasons stated in its written and oral comments,AOG shall be allowed to make the appropriate TLICGRP debits and credits through a bill line item adjustment rather than through its PGA. Specific language for such bill line item shall be submitted for pre-approval to the Staff prior to inclusion on any customer’s bill. 5. After an eligible customer has been reconnected pursuant to the TLICGRP, the Commission’s General Service Rules regarding reconnection after cut-off and customer deposits shall once again be applicable to such customer in the case of subsequent default. Further, the waiver of the “five-day” rule shall apply only through the end of this winter heating season. Given that winter weather is fast approaching, the Gas Companies are encouraged to enroll and connect eligible customers as expeditiously as possible. 6. Each customer reconnected through the TLICGRP shall remain in the levelized billing or average payment program for at least as long as the term of the Delayed Payment Agreement. 7. A copy of a Delayed Payment Agreement executed pursuant to the TLICGRP shall be mailed to the customer. 8. The Gas Companies shall cancel any debt collection contract initiated with any collection agency regarding an individual customer once that customer has enrolled in the TLICGRP program. 9. The Gas Companies shall maintain all necessary records related to the TLICGRP for audit purposes, including but not limited to, usage, billing, and payment records for each customer participating in the program. The Commission’s intent relating to the establishment of the TLICGRP program is revealed in Order No. 4, filed on November 19, 2001. The order states: [I]t was and remains the Commission’s intent to provide a program that will enable low income residential customers disconnected from the natural gas utility system to be reconnected before the onset of cold weather. The TLICGRP is intended to assist certain low income customers [those customers whose family income does not exceed 200 percent of the currently approved Federal Poverty Guidelines] who are either currently disconnected or are scheduled to be disconnected by December 31,2001, due to their default on payment for gas usage during the winter heating season of 2000-2001. Generally, under the broad powers granted under § 23-2-301, the Commission has the statutory authority to implement a gas connection policy. Specifically, under § 23-2-304(a)(l), the Commission had the authority to “find and fix just, reasonable, and sufficient rates.” The term rate is defined to include “every compensation, charge, fare, toll, rental, and classification, or any of them, demanded, observed, charged, or collected by any public utility for any service, products, or commodity offered by it as a public utility to the public and means and includes any rules, regulations, practices, or contracts affecting any compensation, charge, fare, toll, rental, or classification[.]” Ark. Code Ann. §23-1-101(10) (Repl. 2002) (emphasis added). Here, the Commission, acting within its rate-making capacity, had authority to adapt the TLICGRP policies to modify tariffs relating to connection of utility services whereby certain utility customers can pay their past-due debt in installments. Further, under § 23-2-304 (a)(2), the Commission is directed to “[determine the reasonable, safe, adequate, and sufficient service,” and § 23-3-113 also expresses the public policy that the service is “reasonable, safe, and sufficient for the security and convenience of the public. . . [.]” B. Authority fof surcharges The majority holds that the Commission committed reversible error in allowing a surcharge to be imposed on all customers to offset the effect of the Commission’s order that utilities forego attempts to collect participating customers’ unpaid bills while the participating customers were given time to pay those past-due balances. Notwithstanding that the Commission had authority to adopt the TLICGRP, the AGC contends that the imposition of a surcharge on gas bills for all domestic customers to offset the effect of requiring the utilities to cease efforts to collect past-due accounts owed by participating customers exceeded the authority of the Commission, or constituted reversible error. I disagree. This court has held in several cases that the Commission has authority to approve surcharges to offset specific costs of providing utility services. In Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corp. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 301 Ark. 259, 783 S.W.2d 350 (1990), we approved the recovery of costs associated with asbestos removal. In City of El Dorado v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 235 Ark. 812, 362 S.W.2d 680 (1962), we approved a surcharge on customers’ gas bills to compensate for municipal franchise taxes that exceeded the standard level of such taxes approved by the Commission. Also in City of El Dorado, supra, we approved an increase in the monthly minimum service charge to offset specific additional costs. The approval of these surcharges did not require a petition for a general rate increase. Not only has this court recognized the general authority of the Commission to approve surcharges to offset specific increases in costs, the General Assembly has enacted statutes specifically confirming the Commission’s authority to do so and directing that surcharges are appropriate when a utility incurs additional expenses that cannot be recovered in a prompt and timely fashion. Arkansas Code Annotated § 23-4-501 et seq. (Repl. 2002) provides: (a) It is recognized that legislative or administrative regulations impose certain legal requirements upon public utilities relating to the protection of the public health, safety, or the environment, and that: (1) In order to comply with such legislative or regulatory requirements, utilities are required to make substantial additional investments or incur additional expenses with respect to existing facilities used and useful in providing service to the utility’s customers; and (2) Although such additional investments and expenses are necessary in order to provide service to the utility’s customers, such additional investments and expenses are not included in the utility’s rates and cannot be recovered in a prompt and timely fashion under existing regulatory procedures. (b) It is intended by the General Assembly that utilities be permitted to recover in a prompt and timely manner all such costs incurred by utilities in order to comply with such legislative or regulatory requirements through an interim surcharge which, if approved, shall be effective until the implementation of new rate schedules in connection with the next general rate fifing of the utility wherein such additional investments or expenses can be included in the utility’s base rate schedules. However, the costs to be recovered through such interim surcharge shall not include increases in the cost for employment compensation or benefits as a result of legislative or regulatory action. Id. (emphasis added). As set out above, the General Assembly has expressly articulated the public policy allowing the recovery of such costs incurred by utilities through an “interim surcharge,” and the only exclusion provided by the legislature is for the “increases in the cost for employment compensation or benefits as a result of legislative or regulatory action.” Based upon our standard of review, I conclude that the Commission had the authority to assess interim charges. As a further reflection of public policy articulated by the General Assembly, Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-502 (Repl. 2002), provides: Any public utility as defined in 23-1-101 may recover all costs and expenses reasonably incurred by such utility as a direct result of legislative or regulatory requirements relating to the protection of the public health, safety, and the environment by filing with the Arkansas Public Service Commission, no more frequently than once every six (6) months, an interim rate schedule which would impose a separate surcharge in addition to its currently effective rates until the implementation of new rate schedules in connection with the next general rate fifing of the utility wherein such additional expenditures can be included in the utility’s base rate schedules. Id. (emphasis added). In sum, our statutory law and our case law are consistent in recognizing that the Commission has authority to change existing provisions relating to connection and disconnection of gas service. Moreover, the Commission has the power to establish new and temporary provisions as part of the rates, terms, and conditions of service regularly promulgated by the Commission to be implemented by the filing of appropriate rate schedules and conditions of service by the utility companies. In my view, the Commission clearly had the authority to enter its order establishing the terms and conditions for reconnection of utility services through the TLICGRP. Sliding-Scale Rates Appellant argues that the TLICGRP constitutes a general rate increase that must be addressed in a general rate case. Specifically, appellant contends that the provision for the recovery of past-due debt in the TLICGRP is an unlawful single-issue rate-making. Appellant argues that the establishment of the TLICGRP constitutes a general rate increase, and consequently that this case must be governed by Ark. Code Ann. §§ 23-4-401 et sea. (Repl. 2002). I disagree. Arkansas Code Annotated § 23-4-108 (Repl. 2002), the sliding-scale or escalator-clause statute at issue, permits the Commission to fix a sliding scale of rates, but it also must be just and reasonable. The statute provides: (a)(1) Nothing in this act shall be taken to prohibit a public utility from establishing or entering into an agreement for a fixed period for a sliding scale or automatic adjustment of charges for public utility service in relation to the dividends to be paid to stockholders of the public utility, or the profit to be realized, or its expenses of operation to be incurred, or other equitable or reasonable basis for the scale or adjustment if a schedule showing the rates under the arrangement is first filed with and approved by the commission. (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the commission from revoking its approval at any time and fixing other rates and charges for the product or commodity or service if, after reasonable notice and hearing, the commission finds the existing rates or charges unjust, unreasonable, insufficient, or discriminatory. (b) The commission shall have the power to fix a reasonable and just sliding scale of rates for public utilities. Id. Appellant further argues that Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-108 must be read in harmony with Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-406 (Repl. 2002), which provides: For the purpose of justifying the reasonableness of a proposed new rate schedule, a utility may utilize either an historical test period of twelve (12) consecutive calendar months or a forward-looking test period of twelve (12) consecutive calendar months consisting of six (6) months of actual historical data derived from the books and records of the utility and six (6) months of projected data which together shall be the period or test year upon which fair and reasonable rates shall be determined by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. However, the commission shall also permit adjustments to any test year so utilized to reflect the effects on an annualized basis of any and all changes in circumstances which may occur within twelve (12) months after the end of the test year where such changes are both reasonably known and measurable. Id. In City of El Dorado, supra, the dispute involved a tariff filed by Arkansas Louisiana Gas Company to increase the minimum monthly service charges on customers’ meters from $1.17 toll.87 based upon specific increases in costs of providing services. The present case does not involve an escalator clause, as is provided in Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-408, nor does it constitute a change in rates requiring the use of a fully developed rate case because there is no increase in the unit price of gas except for the surcharge. Here, the Commission exercised its authority by establishing a payment plan by which low-income customers with unusually high gas charges can pay back past-due accounts in installments. The language of the TLICGRP reads in part: 3. Debits and credits to be flowed through each Gas Companies’ Purchased Gas Adjustment (“PGA”) or Gas Supply Rate (“GSR”) or by a bill line item shall be limited to the outstanding indebtedness of and payments received from only those customers actually enrolled in the TLICGRP. Eligible debits shall include not only existing past due amounts when the customer enrolls in the TLICGRP, but also new unpaid debt incurred while the customer is a participant in the program for usage during the current winter heating season (defined as the billing period beginning November 1, 2001, and ending April 30, 2002). Credits shall include all payments received from any customer in the TLICGRP program toward the outstanding debt that has been debited to the PGA, GSR or bill line item as authorized herein, whether incurred prior to enrollment or during participation in the program.The gas companies shall be allowed to recover the total bad debt write-off for enrolled customers over a single twelve (12) month amortization period. The language of the policy refers to the “outstanding debt” of the customer that may be paid off while enrolled in the TLICGRP. The basic rates for service were unchanged except for the provisions relating to the requirement that all utilities must cease efforts to collect past-due accounts owed by participating customers as part of a program to reconnect participating customers who had been cut off. It is important to note that those customers enrolled in the TLICGRP continue to pay their unpaid utility bills on an installment plan, and that the allowance for a surcharge for delinquent accounts is reduced as those unpaid accounts are paid. Finally, the provisions of § 23-4-401 (a) applies only when a public utility requests “a general change or modification in its rates and charges.” Here, the TLICGRP was mandated by the Commission; the public utilities did not make a request that is contemplated by § 23-4-401 (a). For these reasons, I would hold that Ark. Code Ann. §§ 23-4-108 and 23-4-406 are inapplicable to the present case, and that the allegation that the Commission engaged in an illegal single issue ratemaking has no merit. Double Recovery of Bad-Debt Expense The majority expresses concern about the issue of double recovery of bad-debt expense, but refrains from reversing on this point. This issue requires more discussion. Appellant argues that the TLICGRP unlawfully permits double-expense recovery. Specifically, appellant contends that the utilities’ rates already include an allowance for bad debt, and that the requirement of ratepayers to pay PGA or GSR tariffs for TLICGRP participants’ unpaid bills is to impermissibly recover these bad-debt expenses twice. This contention does not take into account the fact that an agreement to pay an unpaid account on an installment plan does not transform that unpaid bill into a bad debt. Only when a participating customer defaults upon his or her agreement to pay past debts does the unpaid balance become a “bad debt,” subject then to legal process for the collection of such bad debt. The TLICGRP provides that the utilities must maintain all records related to the TLICGRP program, and the Commission has the authority to require that there be no double dipping. Appellant further argues that this practice violates Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-103 (Repl. 2002). Arkansas Code Annotated § 23-4-1Q3 provides: All rates made, demanded, or received by any public utility, for any product or commodity furnished, or to be furnished, or any service rendered or to be rendered, and all rules and regulations made by any public utility pertaining thereto shall be just and reasonable, and to the extent that the rates, rules, or regulations may be unjust or unreasonable, are prohibited and declared unlawful. Id. Here, the TLICGRP does not cover all bad debt attributable to all customers across the state, but only the unpaid bills owed by customers who enroll in the TLICGRP. As past-due payments are made on the installment plan by participating customers in the TLICGRP, those payments reduce the allowance for such unpaid accounts. The temporary surcharge is of limited duration while those TLICGRP customers pay off their past-due accounts, and eventually, the surcharge is eliminated upon receipt of the past-due balance. The Commission had before it the testimony of Robert Booth, the manager of the Commission’s gas and water utilities section, that it was unlikely that a double recovery would occur. The Commission’s findings of fact, based upon the testimony of an expert witness, shall be conclusive when supported by substantial evidence. See Bryant v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 57 Ark. App. 73, 941 S.W.2d 452 (1997). There is an assurance that no double recovery would be allowed, and there is no evidence that the Commission will fail to assure this result. This court has stated that it .is the result reached, not the method employed, that is controlling, and it is not the theory, but the impact of the rate order that counts in determining whether rates are just, reasonable, lawful and nondiscriminatory. If the total effect of the rate order cannot be said to be unjust, unreasonable, unlawful or discriminatory, judicial inquiry is concluded, and infirmities in the method employed rendered unimportant. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm’n, 267 Ark. 550, 593 S.W.2d 434 (1980) (citing Federal Power Comm’n. v. Hope Natural Gas Co., 320 U.S. 591 (1944)). Accordingly, I would hold that the Commission’s order was reasonable and fair under Ark. Code Ann. § 23-4-103. Because I have addressed the salient points that the Commission had the authority to implement the policy at issue, any further analysis of appellant’s remaining points on appeal would be superfluous. Glaze and Thornton, JJ., join this dissent.   None of the members of Arkansas Gas Consumers, Inc. were disconnected from service, and the rules and regulations applicable to connection and disconnection of residential service were not applicable to non-residential customers.    Many of the industrial and commercial companies included in appellant’s group were not subject to this increased cost.