Welcome to the electronic repository for Commission Decisions (Orders) issued since 1980, and currently active Utility Tariffs. This research tool allows Commission staff and the public to search within the text of all Order and Tariff documents on file and provides a mechanism for knowledge transfer and continuity of information within the agency, as an aid in rendering decisions consistent with previous rulings.
Click here to enter the research repository or read further for more information.
Project Organization:
Documents contained within this repository reside in specific "Libraries" for organizational and research purposes. Decisions rendered from 1980 through 1988 are consolidated into one distinct library. Decisions rendered from 1989 through the present reside in individual libraries.
Tariffs are organized into separate libraries for each category of service and listed in alphabetical order by company name, within each library.
Document Format:
Order libraries between 1980 and 1998, and all Tariff libraries, consist of Adobe 'PDF' documents, which require the free Acrobat Reader for viewing and printing in their native format. The latest Acrobat Reader may be downloaded for free at www.Adobe.com. Order libraries from 1999 through the present are in MSWord format. Therefore, the user must have MSWord installed in order to view and print the documents in their native format. As an alternative, the user may install the free Word Viewer from Microsoft, available at
www.microsoft.com/downloads.
Within the query results list for each document are three links. Two of the links render a text representation of that document, displaying unformatted text only. The link of preferred use renders the document in its native "pdf" or "MSWord" format, requiring the free "Acrobat Reader" or "Word Viewer" mentioned above. When documents are opened in their native "pdf" or "MSWord" format, they may be saved to the users local computer, or printed on a local printer.
Operational Issues:
To enter the repository, click on the link at the bottom of this page. You will then be prompted to enter a Username and Password. Members of the public should enter "public" for the username and "public" for the password. You will then be presented with the initial repository screen which lists all Order and Tariff libraries available. You may return to this screen at any time by pressing the 'Databases" option at the top menu. To search within one or more libraries, select the check box to the left of any library.
After selecting the library(s), press the "Query" option at the top menu. This presents the Query screen, where you may enter any word or phrase for which you wish to search. (Additional information on formulating a query is discussed below in the section titled "Search Tips".) To continue with your search, press the "Search" button to the right of the query text box. We also recommend that you choose the "Boolean" Mode and "Average" Style selections, located immediately below the query text box.
When your search is completed, you will receive a "Results List" containing the names of all documents satisfying your search. Open a document by clicking the document name or one of the two icons located to the left of the document name. As noted above, we recommend choosing the Acrobat or MSWord icons for best viewing or saving to your local computer. Please be patient when waiting for a search to be performed and the results list to be returned, as the length of time depends on the size of the library and your Internet connection speed. The "Results List" screen may appear, with "Done" showing in the bottom status bar, several seconds before the results list actually appears on the screen.
Search Tips:
You may use this tool to perform text-based searches of all decisions or tariffs indexed into the system by entering your keyword or phrase into the text box and clicking the "Search" button. A few suggestions for formulating queries follow:
1. Search for a case number (ex. 98-150):
Select the library(s) of interest.
Enclose the case number in quotes and place an asterisk at the end of the case number.
Example: "98-150*"
Click the "Search" button.
You should be returned all documents, which reference case number 98-150. If no direct references to 98-150 are found, you may be returned a hit list containing variants of the numbers 98 or 150.
2. Search for the word "deregulation" in the "1999" library.
Select the 1999 library.
Enclose the word "deregulation" in quotes.
Click the "Search" button.
You should be returned all documents in the 1999 library, which contain the word "deregulation" or its variant.
3. Search for the words "rate adjustment" and "test year" appearing within the same document.
Select the library(s) of interest.
Enclose the phrase in quotes as below, connected by an ampersand.
Ex. "rate adjustment" & "test year"
Click the search button.
You should be returned all documents in the selected libraries, which contain the phrases or their variants.
4. Search for the words "rate adjustment" or "test year" appearing within the same document.
Select the library(s) of interest.
Enclose the phrase in quotes as below, connected by the word "or".
Ex. "rate adjustment" or "test year"
Click the search button.
You should be returned all documents in the selected libraries, which contain the phrases or their variants.
Additional Help:
The system search screen has a "Help" button at the top of the page which you may use to review additional search formulation suggestions. The most concise search results are obtained by enclosing your terms in quotes as in the above examples, although this is not required.
Also, be sure to formulate a search for a case number, with an asterisk and quotes, as in the above example, otherwise you may get unpredictable results.
Accessing the repository:
When prompted for username enter "Public", enter "public" for the password.
Click here to enter the research repository.