Boston Gas Co. v. Department of Public Utilities, 367 Mass. 92

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reviewed consolidated appeals concerning the Department of Public Utilities' treatment of Boston Gas Company's unamortized retired gas-manufacturing plant in its rate base. The court held that, given the Department's prior approval and inconsistent treatment, the Department could not exclude the plant without findings or reasons justifying the change. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Holdings

1. The 1971 decision was not dispositive of whether unamortized retired plant must be included in the rate base. It required the Department to consider the item in comparing hypothetical test years and explain its treatment, but did not make a final determination on rate-base inclusion.
2. The Department could not exclude the retired plant from the rate base for the remaining amortization period without finding or reporting facts warranting the change, after previously approving the amortization plan and allowing inclusion of the property in the rate base in three proceedings.
3. The court did not adopt a categorical rule requiring either inclusion or exclusion of unamortized retired plant from a utility's rate base. The Department may select and apply a reasonable rule, but must apply it consistently and must avoid confiscatory rates.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Department of Public Utilities could exclude Boston Gas's net unamortized retired gas-manufacturing plant from its rate base after previously approving the plant's ten-year amortization and allowing its inclusion in the rate base in three subsequent proceedings.
2. Whether the Department complied with G.L. c. 30A, § 11 (8), by excluding the property without findings of fact, legal determinations, or a statement of reasons explaining its departure from prior treatment.
3. Whether the court's prior decision in Boston Gas Co. v. Department of Public Utilities, 359 Mass. 292 (1971), conclusively required inclusion of the unamortized retired plant in the rate base.

Disposition

vacated