*** NOT FOR PUBLICATION ***
NO. 27496
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI`I
In the Matter of
PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
Instituting a Proceeding to
Investigate the Issues and
Requirements Raised by, and Contained in
Hawai`i Revised Statutes 486H, as Amended.
APPEAL FROM THE HAWAII PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
(DOCKET NO.
05-0002)
ORDER
DISMISSING APPEAL
(By: Nakayama, J., for the court (1))
Upon review of the statements
supporting and
contesting jurisdiction and the record, it appears that the Public
Utilities
Commission opened Docket No. 05-0002 to examine whether the Legislature's
gasoline price cap factors should be adjusted. The commission filed
Decision and Order No. 21952 determining that the commission would
initially use
and not adjust the Legislature's factors to calculate the gasoline
price caps. The determination that the Legislature's factors would be
initially used to
calculate the gasoline price caps did not determine any legal right,
duty or
privilege of appellant Shell Oil Company or any other party and HRS § 486H-13 did
not require the commission to conduct a hearing prior to decision
making on
whether the commission would use or adjust the Legislature's factors to
initially
calculate the gasoline price caps. Therefore, Docket No. 05-0002 was
not a
proceeding in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific
parties
were required by law to be determined after an opportunity for agency
hearing and
was not a contested case from which an appeal could be taken pursuant
to HRS §§
91-14(a) and 269-15.5. See HRS § 91-1(5). The commission's public meetings
were
not required by constitutional due process inasmuch as the commission,
in Docket
No. 05-0002, did not determine any legal right, duty or privilege of
appellant
Shell Oil Company. See HRS § 91-1(5).
IT
FURTHER APPEARS that Decision and Order No. 21952, which gave notice of
further
proceedings in the docket to adjust and refine the gasoline cap formula
and which
was followed by the commission's September 28,
2005 directive to submit proposals
on adjustment and refinement of the gasoline cap formula, did not end
Docket No.
05-0002 and was not a final decision and order appealable pursuant to
HRS §§ 91-14(a) and 269-15.5. The decision and order was not
appealable as a preliminary
ruling of the nature that deferral of review pending entry of a
subsequent final
decision would deprive appellant Shell Oil Company of adequate relief
inasmuch as
appellant can petition the commission pursuant to HRS § 486H-16
for an adjustment
of the gasoline cap formula. For
the same reasons, Order No. 21994 was not appealable. Thus, we
lack
jurisdiction over this appeal. Therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that
this appeal is dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai`i, January 23,
2006.
1.
Considered by: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy, JJ.