Case No. RK272-03350
April 30, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Supplemental Order
Name of Applicant: Timbocs Service Station
Date of Filing: July 13, 1995
Case Number : RK272-3350
On May 5, 1989, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Decision and Order in the Subpart V crude oil refund proceeding approving a refund for purchases made by Timbocs Service Station (Timbocs)(Case No. RF272-21222). See Town of Gaston, 18 DOE ¶ 85,981 (1989). In that Decision, the Office granted a refund of $4,080 to Timbocs based on purchases of 5,100,436 gallons of refined petroleum products.
This Office is in the process of issuing supplemental refunds to all applicants granted refunds in the crude oil proceeding. As we stated in the May 5, 1989 Decision and Order, when additional crude oil monies became available, meritorious applicants would receive a share of the additional monies. During our review process for a supplemental refund in Case No. RF272-21222, however, we discovered that the application filed on behalf of Timbocs was erroneously granted. In the initial application, Timbocs indicated that during the refund period (August 17, 1973 through January 27, 1981) it operated as a reseller of petroleum products. The OHA has held that resellers and retailers of refined petroleum products must submit evidence of injury to be eligible for refunds in this proceeding. See Joes Exxon Service, 19 DOE ¶ 85,116 (1989). Timbocs submitted no evidence demonstrating that it was injured by crude oil overcharges. Since crude oil overcharges were spread evenly throughout the petroleum industry, the market prices of all resellers and retailers increased. Thus, we have presumed that all resellers and retailers were compensated for increased crude oil costs through generally higher selling prices to their customers. Since Timbocs submitted no evidence to refute this presumption, it is not entitled to a refund in the crude oil proceeding.
Consequently, this Office has determined that the Application for Supplemental Refund filed by Timbocs Service Station (Case No. RK272-3350) should be denied.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Supplemental Refund filed by Timbocs Service Station, Case No. RK272-3350, is hereby denied.
(2) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: April 30, 1997