Case No. RF272-89846
December 30, 1998
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: Chain Lighting & Appliance Co., et al.
Dates of Filing: September 19, 1991 et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-89846 et al.
This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund filed by 39 claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. Each applicant listed in the Appendix attached to the Decision and Order has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy in Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986).
To receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant that was an end-user (i.e., consumer) of refined petroleum products must document its purchase volumes. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987). Each applicant's refund share is calculated using the current refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon.
Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix is eligible to receive a refund. The purchase volumes and refunds approved for each applicant are set forth in the Appendix. The applicants considered in this Decision applied on their own behalf. In accordance with each applicant's request, refund checks will be sent directly to the applicant.(1) The total volume for which
refunds are approved in the Appendix is 11,232,868 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $17,974.
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 Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds are hereby approved 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 the refund amounts set forth in the Appendix to this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, to the applicants listed in the Appendix.
(3) The cooperative shall notify its membership of the receipt of the refund and shall pass through to its member customers all crude oil refunds received in Subpart V refund proceedings conducted by the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
(4) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicants shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of 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. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any 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: December 30, 1998
(1)One applicant Weyerhaeuser Equity Coop (Case No. RR272-310) was granted a refund in an earlier Decision. However, this applicant I requesting a refund based on additional purchases, and has submitted the appropriate documentation. Therefore, this claim will be granted.