Review of the Negotiated Settlement. The Board will now address the remainder of the principles applying to a negotiated settlement, taking into account that this is a contested settlement. In Decision 2000-85, the Board recognized that three types of settlements were possible when parties attempted to resolve issues: a unanimous or consensus settlement, an unopposed settlement where parties do not object to the settlement but do not express overt support for it, or a contested settlement. The Board concluded that its process, policies, and examination of consensus settlements would be similar in nature to its review of unopposed settlements. However, in the case of contested settlements, the Board said that the applicable process and policy would be different and a more intensive review process would be required. The Board will now consider whether the agreement is in the public interest, is reasonable and fair to all interested parties, has a well-substantiated rational basis, and is complete and adequate to support the application. The Board provided a detailed discussion of the basis on which it would provide approval for the 2002 Plan and 2002 Settlement Agreement for EESAI in Decision 2001-87: The Board notes that the 2002 Settlement Agreement and 2002 Plan proposed by EESAI and the Consultation Parties on October 9, 2001 provided an energy procurement and price-setting framework for the RRO customers in UNCA’s service territory. Due to the confidential nature of the framework, exact details with respect to acquisition amounts, strategies, and timings remain unknown to the Board, except to the Board’s observer.15 However, on a similar basis as for 2001, the rates that would ultimately be paid by RRO tariff customers in 2002 would be determined by the cost of electricity purchased by the means set out in the 2002 Settlement Agreement and 2002 Plan. As under the original 2001-2005 Plan, all pool price and volume risk would continue to be borne by EESAI. Like the 2001-2005 Plan, the Board understands that the 2002 Settlement Agreement and 2002 Plan for electric energy acquisition were developed by EESAI in collaboration with a number of parties representing the majority of the RRO eligible customers in the EESAI service area. Presumably, oil and gas customers and industrial customers who might be eligible for the RRO for a portion of their load were not included as Consultation Parties due to perceived conflicts of interest since they could perhaps disadvantage the Consultation Parties’ cu...
