Greenwood Professional Park v. Public Service Commission

487 N.E.2d 472, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2254, 1986 WL 1167079
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 15, 1986
DocketNo. 2-1084A313
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 487 N.E.2d 472 (Greenwood Professional Park v. Public Service Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Greenwood Professional Park v. Public Service Commission, 487 N.E.2d 472, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2254, 1986 WL 1167079 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

HOFFMAN, Judge.

Appellant Greenwood Professional Park, a limited partnership, (Greenwood or petitioner) appeals an order of the Public Service Commission denying Greenwood’s request for master metering of a multi-unit building in the professional park. Appellant alleges the decision of the Commission is erroneous as it is not supported by adequate findings of fact based on substantial evidence.

This cause arose pursuant to 170 IAC 4-1.5-2. In 1978 Congress enacted the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 2601-45. Pursuant to PURPA, the state regulatory agencies for utilities were required to consider and adopt or reject various standards as set forth in 16 U.S.C. §§ 2621-25, which standards were to conserve energy, promote efficient use of facilities and resources by the utility and to promote equitable rates to consumers of electricity. 16 U.S.C. § 2611. 16 U.S.C. § 2623(b)(1) establishes the standard of prohibiting, with exceptions, the use of master metering in new buildings. Pursuant to this federal legislation, 170 IAC 4-1.5-2 was enacted which provides:

“Master metering of new multi-unit structures
Sec. 2. General Prohibition of Master Metering of New Multi Unit Buildings and Exceptions. All electricity delivered to a new building at which units of such premises are separately rented, leased or owned, shall be sold by the electric utility on the basis of individual meter measurement for each such occupancy unit, except for electricity used in hotels, motels and other similar transient lodging, or where the service applicant establishes in writing furnished to the utility before commencement of construction of the new building that costs of purchasing and installing separate meters in such building exceed the long run benefits of individual metering of units and would not substantially serve to meet any of the three objectives of the Act.”

Greenwood had begun construction of the buildings in its professional park in 1976. The first buildings in the complex were completed in 1976. A second group of buildings was begun in 1978 with one building completed in 1979 and another building, the one at issue here, begun in April 1983 and incomplete at the time of hearing. All the buildings have multiple units. In the first group of buildings completed, each building is equipped with a master meter which services all units in the building. The building completed in 1979 was also a multi-unit structure with a master meter servicing that building and equipped to be expanded to service the building begun in 1983. However, the last building was not begun until after the effective date of 170 IAC 4-1.5-2 which prohibits, with exceptions, master metering. Petitioner did not request master metering for the building until September 1983. The request was denied and a hearing ensued resulting in an order finding the petitioner not within the exception and therefore refusing master metering. Petitioner requested reconsideration of the matter which was denied.

The standard of review for a ruling of the Commission is set out in IND. CODE § 8-1-3-1:

“An assignment of errors that the decision, ruling or order of the Commission is contrary to law shall be sufficient to present both the sufficiency of the facts found to sustain the decision, ruling or order, and the sufficiency of the evidence [474]*474to sustain the finding of facts upon which it was rendered.”

To implement the statutory standard of review, the Commission is required to make specific findings on all factual determinations material to the ultimate conclusions. On review, inquiry concerns whether the ultimate conclusions may reasonably be inferred from the findings of fact and whether there is substantial evidence to support the findings of basic facts. Citizens Action Coalition v. Public Serv. Co. (1983), Ind.App., 450 N.E.2d 98, 102, reh. denied. In reviewing the Commission decision, the Court cannot reweigh the evidence nor substitute its judgment for that of the Commission. Wilfong v. Indiana Gas Co., Inc. (1980), Ind.App., 399 N.E.2d 788, 790. The decision of the Commission will be set aside only where the review clearly indicates the agency decision lacks a reasonably sound basis of evidentiary support. L.S. Ayres & Co. et al. v. I. P. & L. Co. (1976), 169 Ind.App. 652, 351 N.E.2d 814, 822-823, trans. denied.

Here, petitioner has conceded the Commission made the findings necessary to the ultimate conclusions. Therefore the only issue is whether those findings are supported by substantial evidence.

The Commission found petitioner had failed to establish the economic cost of individual metering exceeds the long term benefits of individual metering. Petitioner argues this finding is not supported by the evidence since Public Service Company of Indiana (PSI), as respondent, did not offer any evidence of the economic benefits of individual metering. PSI was not required to present such evidence. Whether or not individual metering is economically beneficial over the long run was determined when 170 IAC 4-1.5-2 was enacted. Evidence of the economic benefits was considered at the hearings before enactment. The issue now is whether, given the preference for individual metering as established by 170 IAC 4-1.5-2, petitioner's situation results in the economic costs of individual metering exceeding the long term benefits and prevents the advancement of the objectives of the act by use of individual metering. 170 IAC 4-1.5-2. The burden is on petitioner to thus establish itself within the exception to the individual metering mandate.

As to the element of costs exceeding benefits, a review of the evidence reveals that petitioner presented the testimony of Dr. John Mahan, the general partner of Greenwood Professional Park. Mahan offered evidence of a $1,360.10 estimate for wiring and metering the units of the building at issue. It was further established by PSI that the cost to PSI to install the individual meters would range from $358.76 to $944.67. In addition Mahan gave his opinion as to other areas of increased costs without presenting further evidence of same: increased PSI costs in maintaining, reading and billing for multiple meters; increased consumer costs due to less efficient operation of heating and cooling systems due to individual maintenance rather than maintenance by petitioner; additional purchase and installation costs for water heaters to replace the central water heater; and the lost dual value of the existing master meter.

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487 N.E.2d 472, 1986 Ind. App. LEXIS 2254, 1986 WL 1167079, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/greenwood-professional-park-v-public-service-commission-indctapp-1986.