Article 2. Rehearings of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 1. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 9. >> Article 2.

(a) The commission shall set an effective date when issuing an order or decision. The commission may set the effective date of an order or decision before the date of issuance of the order or decision.
  (b) (1) After an order or decision has been made by the commission, a party to the action or proceeding, or a stockholder, bondholder, or other party pecuniarily interested in the public utility affected may apply for a rehearing in respect to matters determined in the action or proceeding and specified in the application for rehearing. The commission may grant and hold a rehearing on those matters, if in its judgment sufficient reason is made to appear. A cause of action arising out of any order or decision of the commission shall not accrue in any court to any corporation or person unless the corporation or person has filed an application to the commission for a rehearing within 30 days after the date of issuance or within 10 days after the date of issuance in the case of an order issued pursuant to either Article 5 (commencing with Section 816) or Article 6 (commencing with Section 851) of Chapter 4 relating to security transactions and the transfer or encumbrance of utility property.
  (2) The commission shall notify the parties of the issuance of an order or decision by either mail or electronic transmission. Notification of the parties may be accomplished by one of the following methods:
  (A) Mailing the order or decision to the parties to the action or proceeding.
  (B) If a party to an action or proceeding consents in advance to receive notice of any order or decision related to the action or proceeding by electronic mail address, notification of the party may be accomplished by transmitting an electronic copy of the official version of the order or decision to the party if the party has provided an electronic mail address to the commission.
  (C) If a party to an action or proceeding consents in advance to receive notice of any order or decision related to the action or proceeding by electronic mail address, notification of the party may be accomplished by transmitting a link to an Internet Web site where the official version of the order or decision is readily available to the party if the party has provided an electronic mail address to the commission.
  (3) For the purposes of this article, "date of issuance" means the mailing or electronic transmission date that is stamped on the official version of the order or decision.
  (c) A cause of action arising out of an order or decision of the commission construing, applying, or implementing the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Statutes of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session that (1) relates to the determination or implementation of the department's revenue requirements, or the establishment or implementation of bond or power charges necessary to recover those revenue requirements, or (2) in the sole determination of the Department of Water Resources, the expedited review of order or decision of the commission is necessary or desirable, for the maintenance of any credit ratings on any bonds or notes of the department issued pursuant to Division 27 (commencing with Section 80000) of the Water Code or for the department to meet its obligations with respect to any bonds or notes pursuant to that division, shall not accrue in any court to any corporation or person unless the corporation or person has filed an application with the commission for a rehearing within 10 days after the date of issuance of the order or decision. The Department of Water Resources shall notify the commission of any determination pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subdivision before the issuance by the commission of any order or decision construing, applying, or implementing the provisions of Chapter 4 of the Statutes of the 2001-02 First Extraordinary Session. The commission shall issue its decision and order on rehearing within 210 days after the filing of the application.
  (d) A cause of action arising out of an order or decision of the commission construing, applying, or implementing the provisions of Article 5.7 (commencing with Section 849) of Chapter 4 shall not accrue in any court to any entity or person unless the entity or person has filed an application to the commission for a rehearing within 10 days after the date of issuance of the order or decision. The commission shall issue its decision and order on rehearing within 210 days after the filing of that application.

The application for a rehearing shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds on which the applicant considers the decision or order to be unlawful. No corporation or person shall in any court urge or rely on any ground not so set forth in the application.

(a) Any application for a rehearing made 10 days or more before the effective date of the order as to which a rehearing is sought, shall be either granted or denied before the effective date, or the order shall stand suspended until the application is granted or denied; but, absent further order of the commission the order shall not stand so suspended for more than 60 days after the date of filing of the application, at which time the suspension shall lapse, the order shall become effective, and the application may be taken by the party making it to be denied.
  (b) Any application for a rehearing made within less than 10 days before the effective date of the order as to which a rehearing is sought, and not granted within 60 days, may be taken by the party making the application to be denied, unless the effective date of the order is extended for the period of the pendency of the application.

If any application for a rehearing is granted without a suspension of the order involved, the commission shall forthwith proceed to hear the matter with all dispatch and shall determine the matter within 20 days after final submission. If no determination is made within that time, it may be taken by any party to the rehearing that the order involved is affirmed.

An application for rehearing shall not excuse any corporation or person from complying with and obeying any order or decision, or any requirement of any order or decision of the commission theretofore made, or operate in any manner to stay or postpone the enforcement thereof, except in such cases and upon such terms as the commission by order directs.

If, after such rehearing and a consideration of all the facts, including those arising since the making of the order or decision, the commission is of the opinion that the original order or decision or any part thereof is in any respect unjust or unwarranted, or should be changed, the commission may abrogate, change, or modify it. The order or decision abrogating, changing, or modifying the original order or decision shall have the same force and effect as an orginal order or decision, but shall not affect any right or the enforcement of any right arising from or by virtue of the original order or decision unless so ordered by the commission.