Arkansas Public Service Commission Rejects Clay County Electric Cooperative's Motion to Strike AAEA Witness's Testimony

Strategic Insights -

The Arkansas Public Service Commission has issued a document rejecting Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation's motion to strike a portion of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) witness Lauren Waldrip's surrebuttal testimony. The commission rules that the cooperative failed to properly serve AAEA with the motion, resulting in an unfair curtailment of AAEA's response time. This decision comes in a matter related to a proposed tariff revision regarding policy compliance with 7 CFR § 1730, Subpart C.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Arkansas Public Service Commission rejected Clay County Electric Cooperative Corporation's motion to strike a portion of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA) witness Lauren Waldrip's surrebuttal testimony.
  • The commission found that the cooperative failed to properly serve AAEA with the motion, citing a lack of service on the official service list.
  • AAEA's Executive Director Lauren Waldrip and counsel Randall Bynum searched their emails and did not find any emails serving the motion on them as purported by the certificate of service.
  • The failure to timely serve AAEA resulted in an unfair curtailment of AAEA's response time and placed an undue burden on AAEA and its counsel.
  • The cooperative's motion to strike had no basis in law or fact, and AAEA's testimony was not held out to be an expert opinion.
  • The cooperative's requirements for insurance policies were deemed unobtainable for residential owners of Demand Response (DR) systems.

Statistics:

  • The motion was filed on May 7, 2025.
  • The commission received the motion on May 19, 2025.
  • The first time AAEA learned of the cooperative's motion was by an email sent by Administrative Law Judge and Commission Advisor Wesley Hunt on May 15, 2025.
  • The testimony of Chris Wilson, cited in AAEA witness Lauren Waldrip's surrebuttal, stated that having a lower coverage limit on a general liability policy does not translate into having a lower premium cost.
  • The cooperative's certificate of service failed to note the name of each person served.
  • The financial difficulty imposed by the insurance requirement on cooperative members was deemed entirely unreasonable and inappropriate.

Sources:

  • "BEFORE THE ARKANSAS PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF CLAY COUNTY ELECTRIC DOCKET NO. 24-055-TF COOPERATIVE CORPORATION FOR A PROPOSED TARIFF REVISION REGARDING POLICY TO COMPLY WITH 7 CFR § 1730, SUBPART C."
  • APSC FILED: Time: 5/19/2025 3:07:51 PM: Recvd 5/19/2025 3:06:35 PM: Docket 24-055-TF-Doc. 34
  • Exhibit 1: Email from Administrative Law Judge and Commission Advisor Wesley Hunt to AAEA
  • Exhibit 2: Affidavits of AAEA's Executive Director Lauren Waldrip and counsel Randall Bynum