§ 37-2-402 — Consumer advocate; powers and duties

(a) The consumer advocate shall have the power to:
(i) Act as a party in any proceeding before the
commission, with the same rights and subject to the same
obligations and requirements and limitations on ex parte
communications, including confidentiality requirements, as other
parties to the proceeding;
(ii) Appeal actions of the commission in accordance
with W.S. 37-2-219;
(iii) Seek permission to appear as amicus curiae in
any court proceeding in order to accomplish the purposes
specified in this article;
(iv) Provide information and assistance to individual
consumers regarding proceedings within the jurisdiction of the
commission.
(b) In any commission docketed case initiated by the
regulated company in which the consumer advocate is a party, the
consumer advocate shall have the same access to books, maps,
contracts, reports and records of every description as the
commission. For all other instances, the consumer advocate shall
have the same access as other parties.
(c) The consumer advocate shall not advocate for or on
behalf of any individual, organization or entity.
(d) The consumer advocate may enter into stipulations with
other parties in any proceeding to balance the interests of
those it represents with the interests of the public utilities
as means of minimizing the weaknesses of the adversarial
process, improving the quality of resulting decisions in a
highly technical environment and minimizing the cost of
regulation.
(e) In any case where the office of consumer advocate does
not intervene, the commission shall have the authority to
authorize its staff to participate as a party before the
commission. The commission shall exercise this authority not
later than five (5) business days following the deadline for any
intervention.