Case No. RF272-95482
January 20. 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: City of Quincy
Elsa Coop Gin Assn.
Date of Filing: May 19, 1994
Case Numbers: RF272-95482
RF272-95719
This Decision and Order will consider the Applications for Refund filed by two claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). Each applicant has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987) (Berry); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).
In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes; and (2) show that it was injured as a result of the alleged overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges, and generally need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. See also Berry.
In general, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016 per gallon, the volumetric refund amount currently available. We derived the volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).
City of Quincy (Quincy), Case No. RF272-95482, is a municipality and bought petroleum products to use in its operations. Elsa Coop
Gin Assn. (Elsa), Case No. RF272-95719, is an agricultural cooperative that bought petroleum products for resale to its members, who were end-users. We consider a claim by an agricultural cooperative that resold petroleum products to its members as a claim on behalf of the members. Farmers Union Oil Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,464 (1988). Therefore, we afford such a cooperative the presumption of end-user injury on the condition that it certify that it will pass through the refund to its members. Elsa has provided this certification.
Each applicant has derived its purchase volume claim by using actual records or a reasonable estimation technique. We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by the applicants, and have determined that the information provided by the applicants sufficiently supports their requests for refunds.(1)
Since the applicants who are granted refunds in this Decision are end-users (or considered end-users) of refined petroleum products, they are presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and are entitled to receive their full allocable share of the crude oil monies. The refund amounts are calculated by multiplying the approved purchase volumes by the volumetric refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon. Quincy purchased 3,660,480 gallons of crude oil products and is therefore being granted a refund of $5,857. Elsa purchased 2,477,670 gallons and is therefore being granted a refund of $3,964. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 6,138,150 gallons, and the sum of the refunds granted is $9,821.
Each of the applicants filed their Applications through a private filing service. In accordance with the applicants requests, the refund checks will be sent to those filing services.
The final deadline for the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay crude oil refund claimants at the current rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Application for Refund filed by the City of Quincy on May 19, 1994, Case No. RF272-95482, is hereby approved as set forth in Paragraph (3) below.
(2) The Application for Refund filed by Elsa Coop Gin Assn. on May 19, 1994, Case No. RF272-95719, is hereby approved as set forth in Paragraph (3) below.
(3) 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 $5,857 from the escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to:
City of Quincy OR Petroleum Funds, Inc.
P.O. Box 1380
Paris, TN 38242-9986
and $3,964 from the same account to:
Elsa Coop Gin Assn. OR Energy Refunds, Inc.
P.O. Box 656
Hardin, KY 42048
(4) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, each applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change in its address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to:
Director of Management Information
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585-0107
(5) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicants. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying a refund application is incorrect.
(6) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date:January 20, 1998
(1)We note that Quincy Public Schools, Case No. RF272-80080, and Quincy City Hospital, Case No. RF272-61135, have each been granted a refund earlier in the crude oil proceeding. Each entity is operated by the City of Quincy. We have confirmed that there is no duplication of gallonage between these claims and the present claim.
We further note that because Elsa sold two percent of its purchases to non-members, we have subtracted that portion from its total purchase volume.