Case No. RF300-17085
June 11, 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Name of Applicant: Gulf Oil Corporation / Reedy Creek Utilities Co., Inc.
Date of Filing: June 27, 1991
Case Number: RF300-17085
This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund filed in the Gulf Oil Corporation (Gulf) overcharge refund proceeding by Reedy Creek Utilities Co., Inc., (Reedy Creek), a subsidiary of Walt Disney World. (1)Reedy Creek has requested a refund from Gulf funds that are available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE). These funds are available under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. In the Application, Reedy Creek claims a refund for Gulf petroleum product purchases that it made during the consent order period (January 1, 1973 through January 27, 1981).
The procedures for disbursing the Gulf funds were set forth in a Decision and Order on September 8, 1987. Gulf Oil Corporation, 16 DOE ¶ 85,381 (Gulf). In Gulf, we adopted a presumption that the alleged Gulf overcharges that are attributable to refined products had been dispersed equally in all sales of refined products made by Gulf during the consent order period. Gulf, 16 DOE at 88,736. We stated that, without a demonstration of a disproportionate overcharge, an applicant would be allocated a share of the consent order funds on a volumetric basis. We provided that eligible applicants would receive a principal refund of $.00064 per gallon of covered Gulf product purchased. This amount was derived by dividing the fund received from Gulf allocable to refined products ($42,499,566) by the estimated volume of refined products sold by Gulf from August 1973 through the date of decontrol of each relevant product (66,387,563,569 gallons). Gulf at 88,739. We also established that end-users or ultimate consumers whose businesses are unrelated to the petroleum industry were injured by the alleged refined product overcharges. Thus, end-user claimants need only document their purchase volumes of Gulf products to make a sufficient showing that they were injured by the alleged overcharges. Gulf at 88,740.
We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by Reedy Creek, and we have determined that the information required of applicants by the Gulf Decision has been submitted in this case. Reedy Creek elected not to prove injury and requested a refund under the end-user applicant presumption of injury. Reedy Creeks gallonage claim is based on an estimate prepared from company records. To support the gallonage claim, Reedy Creek submitted copies of Gulf invoices from the consent order period representing a sampling of its purchases. We find Reedy Creeks gallonage estimate to be reasonable.
Reedy Creek has not shown that it suffered a disproportionate overcharge from Gulf's alleged overcharges. Accordingly, its allocable share of the Gulf fund will be based on the volumetric approach described above. Reedy Creek purchased Gulf product primarily to fuel boilers, generators, and vehicles for use by itself or its parent company, Walt Disney World. Thus, as an end- user, Reedy Creek will not be required to provide a separate, detailed demonstration that it absorbed the alleged overcharges. Instead, it may receive a refund based on the end-user presumption of injury described above.
Thus, Reedy Creek will receive a refund amount equal to its full allocable share (the principal amount), plus interest accrued on the principal since the consent order funds were placed in escrow. The total volume approved in this Decision and Order is 18,611,000 gallons of refined petroleum products, and the refund granted is $23,264 (18,611,000 gallons × $.00125/gallon = $23,264).
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed by Reedy Creek Utilities Co., Inc. (Case No. RF300-17085) is hereby granted as set forth in Paragraph (2) below.
(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy shall take appropriate action to disburse a total of $23,264 from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury and funded by Gulf Oil Corporation, Consent Order No. RGFA00001Z, to:
Reedy Creek Energy Services
Attn: Daryl J. Rosborough
P.O. Box 10170
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0170
(3) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based on the presumed validity of statements and documentary material submitted by Reedy Creek Utilities Co., Inc. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the factual basis underlying the Application for Refund is incorrect.
(4) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: June 11, 1998
(1)Reedy Creek Utilities Co., Inc., changed its name to Reedy Creek Energy Services after an October 1987 reorganization.